The Springfield herald., 1909-06-11

kiss woods?'
He turned square round in his seat,
threw one leg over the other, and re-
garded us with new interest.
BE you the man that's livin' in the
Hotchkiss woods?"
felt instinctively that the whole
county had heard of me. 81 be-"
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
lunch"
That struck him as funny Lunch
hey? ! 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 4 hunk of bread and dish Of
milk at the sawmill, but he wasn't 60
ing any further. So we climbed in,
and he jolted out of us what little
resignation we had left, and landed us
in stable yard of the sawmill, where
there was strong and not unNeas-
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 young woman in
freckles whom the angels called
Pauline, and who kept her eye on the
big sealring on my little finger. so
that when she refused to let me pay
for the food gave her the ring, COM
ing dangerously near 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 little brook winding
down through the valley among
water cress and marsh grasses with n
shoes and stockings, and plunged our
dustcovered feet into its cool pockets,
and then set out to explore it, wading
along its channel.
Presently We came to a grassy basin
with sloping green banks-a nature
saucer that must at some time have
| been brimming, but now was left
green by the little stream that wound
| through its center. / initiated the yell
| 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 few moments, and then
! went and helped him with my superior
| knowledge. l rolled the stones up and
| piled them, while he stopped the in
| terstices with sod. 1t was very jolly
| to see the water put on an air of
timidity, and race around the basin
as If little frightened and looking
for an escape. l tugged at heavy
stones, digging them out of a neigh
boring bank with my fingers and roll.
|
Both of us worked like slaves. There
was something fascinating in the gra-
cious conflict of the water. 1t was
like romping with handsome, hoy
| denish girl, who as soon as you
| caught her eluded you with bursts
of laughter and little gurgles, to run
off defiantly in new direction. All at
once every interest in the world sus-
pended itself while that basin filed
| up. The element was so coy, so
gently self-willed, and so hashingly
capricious, that the desire to subdue
and tame and possess it stirred some
instructive masculine impulse even in
Charlie. had no time to think about
it then, but l can see now that we
were savage Angeles painting mural
picture.
| The little lake rose to us with fairy
response. 1t brmmed the basin, took
on frills and furbelows of ripples,
flung out jubilates as it leaped over
our embankment. 1t snatched sky
depths from the air, and planted magi-
cal willowy islets with miniatur,,
palms and ferns and sailed argosies OF
|
them had luXuriant caterpillar curled
| up in its prov like voluptuous Cleo
| patra. 1t was not until the lengthen-
| ing shadows warned us that we set
out for our cabin, and then went to
work without any didacticism or
other nonsense to get our dinner.
| had sand under my finger rails and
scratches on my wrists, but | re-
marked to Charlie, POT cheese and
strawberries are awfully good, my
boy" and he, with his mouth full,
made voracious response. "Awfully,
amt they?"
About half past eight o'clock he
looked at me with sleepy surprise.
Are you going to bed. too?'
Yes" l said, Il think I'm played
out. Goodnight"
Good night. papa"
changed the memorandum on the
doctors letter to read: Send for book
on hydraulics" That's all remember
of that night
Having initiated Charlie up to this
point, there was no good reason why
should not get up in the morning