Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-06-10

How far is it back to the Hotch.
kiss woods?"
He turned square round in his seat,
threw one leg over the other, and re
garded us with a new interest.
BE you the mar that's Twin in the
Hotchkiss woods?"
l felt instinctively that the whole
county had heard of me. II be-" l
said. I've lost my way. I'll give you
a dollar to haul us back. Maybe you
could tell us where we could get a
lunch"
That struck him as funny. Lunch
hey? l s'pose you want yer dinner.
Wal, it's an hour past dinner time"
The improperly of being hungry
when the dinner hour was past had
never struck me so forcibly before.
Finally he allowed" that we might
get a hunk of bread and a dish Of
milk at the sawmill, but he wasn't go.
ing any further. So we climbed in,
and he jolted out of us what little
resignation we had left, and landed us
in a stable yard of the sawmill, where
there was a strong and not unpleas-
ant odor of hemlock sawdust, and
where we were speedily the objects
of benevolent suspicion to several per-
sons who eyed us throug the green
blinds. Nevertheless, we were gra-
ciously provided with hunks of bread
and flowing bowls of milk served in a
summer kitchen by a young woman in
freckles whom the angels called
Pauline, and who kept her eye on the
big soaring on my little finger, so
that when she refused to let me pay
for. the food l gave her the ring, com.
ing dangerously lear calling her
Pauline and telling her that my grand
father, the Dodge of Venice, had mar
ried the Adriatic with it.
BY this time the old teamster, who
had been wrestling with himself In
the woodshed, had obtained a victory
over his conscience and concluded to
take us back for the dollar. AS the
life was nearly jolted out of us by the
time we reached the edge of the
Hotchkiss woods, we told him we
would walk the rest of the way, and
then Charlie and | set out to find our
water pail, coming after much
wandering upon a little brook winding
down through the valley among
water cress and marsh grasses with a
pianissimo gurgle. We took off our
shoes and stockings, and plunged our
dust-covered feet into it's cool pockets,
and then set out to explore it, wading
along it's channel.
Presently we came to a grassy basin
with sloping green banks-a nature
saucer that must at some time have
been trimming, but O was left
green by the little stream that wound
through its center. | initiated the vel
low dog, and threw myself on the
slope, but Charlie went to work
promptly to dam up the outlet.
watched his futile hydraulics with lazy
interest for a few moments, and ther
went and helped him with my superior
knowledge. | rolled the stones up ant
piled them, while he stopped the in
terstices with sod. 1t was very jolly
to see the water put on an air O
timidity, and race around the BASH
as If a little frightened and looking
for an escape. | tugged at heav,
stones, digging them out Of a neigh
boring bank with my fingers and roll
ing them over with incredible toll
Both of us worked like slaves. Their,
was something fascinating in the gra
cious conflict of the water. 1t wa
like romping with a handsome, hoy
denish girl, who as soon as yol
caught her eluded you with burst
of laughter and little gurgles, to ruI
off defiantly in a new direction. All a
once every interest in the world sus
pended itself while that basin file
UP, The element was so coy, S
gently self-willed, and so flashingl
capricious, that the desire to subdu
and tame and possess it stirred som
instructive masculine impulse ever /
Charlie. l had no time to think abou
it then, but I can see now that W
were savage Angeles painting a mura
picture.
The little lake rose to us with fair
response. 1t brimmed the basin, too
on frills and furbelows Of ripplei
flung out jubilates as it leaped owe
our embankment. 1t snatched SIX
depths from the air, and planted mag
cal willowy islets with miniatur
palms and ferns, and sailed argosies {
leafy ~galleons round about-one
them had a luxuriant caterpillar curle
up in its prov like a voluptuous Cle'
patra. 1t was not until the lengthel
ing. shadows warned us that we Sc
out for our cabin, and then went t
work without any didacticism {
other nonsense to get u dinner.
: had sand under my finger rails an
: scratches on my wrists, but | r
. marked to Charlie, "Pot cheese an
= strawberries are awfully good, m
Y boy" and he, with his mouth full
: made voracious response, awful,
: amt they?"
About half past eight o'clock /
= looked at me with sleepy surprise.
7 Are you going to bed, too?"
= Eyes" l said, II think I'm playe
: out. Goodnight"
= Goodnight, papa"
y l changed the memorandum on IL
!. doctors letter to read: Send for boo
. on hydraulics" That's all | rememb'
Of that night.
! Having initiated Charlie up to tn
i point, there was no good al wi
should not get up in the morniI
y when he did. But he was ahead