The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-04-01

udLCl VI uSu anu
started on his circling, tangent way.
Instantly there sprang TO my lips the
stop-rabbit whistle of my youth.
Twice | piped three soft, coaxing
whistles. The rabbit slackened his
pace, turned and sat bolt upright, a
quivering, curious bunch of gray
upon sea of down! AS I moved for
ward whistling, he bobbed off again.
Beside my way a huge tree lay pros
trate and as | drew nearer there was
a scurry of wings, a flutter of feath-
ers and a golden pheasant wheeled off
into the protecting shadows.
All" said |. Surely this road does
more than wander aimlessly to the
village. 1t winds through an Eden of
life and beauty. 1t wends its silent
way past the great linden trees where
the squirrels live and the bluejay
screams and the crow swings in his
aerial flight far above. | am going to
like this road"
The wind sang merrily. softlv
through the wood, now and then sc
tering the feathery snow heaps fro.
the crotches of the trees. waving the
airy plumes OF the low bushes until
they scraped fantastic traceries upon
the bosom of the snow. Here
woodsmau, lowly son of a great
craftsman gone forever from our vi
cinity. had felled a giant oak, razing
in half an hour that which had taken
centuries to grow!
Winding about passed under inter-
locking branches, the great hands OF
two giant elms clasping each other
across the roadway Behind me hill
shut out the view and in front the
road veered sharply into the thick
wood.
All, how often | thought, has
romance had its portrayal here! This
is Cupids lair, where he shoots his
shafts at lovers on their homeward
way from the village, and many
time know, has the buXom, sweet
faced country lassie lost kiss and
gained one underneath these spread
ing trees"
The road ran by a dlapidated rail
tence-decayine liueal descendant of
thousands OF fences of its kind now
reduced 10 ashes and oblivion Be
Nond, barren cornstalks. sentineElike,
stood guard above whitened field.
The adamantine door Of Winter was
closed aSainst its verdure shut with
in
But beneath that cold blanket" /
unused, lies life and harvest. hope
and its answer. Within that cold en-
brace is strength and virility, the dor
mant seed that with the kiss of spring
will awaken to new beauty"
And then the church spire of the
village rose to view. Passing over a
rude bridge | came to the first cot
tage, lowly and poor. red-faced
woman was scolding a dog. There
was a broken window-pane calked
with faded calico wrapper. The cur
tains were awry and tawdry, chickens
stood one-legged upon the front stoop
There was an ash barrel and a dry
goods box in the front yard and a yell
lOW uOS Spl dllS Oul DIT me, barking Iu-
riously.
All" said |, turning upon my heel
The boy was right after all He said
the road gist went on into town He
must have been thinking of the town
when he spoke, and not of the road
Half way back | met the boy.
Where have you been?" | ask
striving not to appear impertinent.
"Twistin a rabbit out of a los
with forked stick he replied, ex-
hibiting the luckless form of poor
Bunny
oh" replied sadly "He was such
a pretty, living thing when | saw him
a few minutes ago!"
"Aw, rabbits amt good fur nothin
but feat argued the boy, defantly
where do you live?' | inquired
First house past the bridge" said
the boy. pointing.
81 might have guessed IT," | said
again talking to myself as ] contin
ued my way homeward.
BYRON WILLIAMS.