The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1910-07-08


with slow decision. 1--WE heerd 'em
time an again"
l looked at him in amazement.
Eyes, It's so, master; often I've
heerd 'em when, wor younger, that
wor. All down along these copsies
as you'd walk by of night you'd
heer 'em. The rattlin' o. swords an
armor an the tramp O. marchin'
men,"
But did you ever see anything?"
I asked.
He shook his head.
81 didn't wait; I'd rum" he said
artlessly.
"Can you hear them now?" I in
quired.
mo; I've heerd folks say as they.
never 'ud heer 'em any more. Us
have it that Carter Maunders broke
the spell. He wor plowin' back in a
bit O. meadow land as lies on the
edge O. the camp an was goin' easy
when his share hit up against STUNT,
hard. The horses pulled in the col
lar a bit an the pillow went fair
through it. When he looked down
to see what it wor he'd plowed
through big brown pot cram full o.
money, an the coins lay all over the;
pillow an scattered round the fur
rows. He looked at it for a moment, !
an he got that frit that he ran home
Ha, hal Left his team standin' an
ran home, he did, an put all the folks
in a fluster by sayin' as how he'd
plowed up pots O. money more'n he
could lift. Us all went back wi him,
an there they wor, thousands O.
coins, little green bronze bits, all over
the place. The pars'n took an
mended the pot an sorted out the
coins, an now the squire has 'em.
People as know say that they werei
the money o the same folk as builded
this greet road, an how mebbe the
camp paymaster buried the money.
an wor killed. Still it broke the
spell, an us'll never hear the clanki
O. armor and the marchin' any more.l
Young folks laugh at it, but there,
they never believe owt but their own
eyes an ears"
He finished with an air of finaiity,
little contemptuous in his tone of
the degeneracy of the rising gener-;
alton.
Taking up his bill hook again, he
moistened his palms in the primitive
fashion of the laborer, and with the,
skill of an expert broke away the
smooth barked slaves crowned with
the clustering buds. He cut care
fully at their roots, saving the twists
at the bottom for the handle crooks
and leaving bare a hideous jagged
stump.
IAN ugly end for anything" 1 re-,
marked.
"Walkin' sticks for townsfolks,"
he snorted angrily, Ito make 'em look
gentry, people as lives in cooped up
streets O. brick. BAH" And he
slashed away with redoubled vigor.
Then looping off their tops he tied
them with withes.
"You won't be passing this way
again to cut those clumps," 1 VEN
tured.
He shook his head. "They won't
be growed till after my time, mas
ter" He trimmed a jagged stump
and then went on:
But It's the way O. all things,
though, an us can't help oursePs."
His blue eyes twinkled as he gazed
round at me. 1--WE had a pow'rful
lot O. sunlight in my time, an I amt
to grissle. Many folks a seen less;
I'm just bidin' me time"
1 stepped out Of the shade into the
glare of the road again. A couple of
rabbits scurried across lower down,
black spots of shadow in the sun;
The heat shot up from off the track
in suffocating plunges.
Anyway" I shouted down, your
children won't deny the existence of
this road; it'll last them out and their
It'll last forever" he said de-
cidedly.
Up to the crest of the hill the road
rose, and as l looked back and saw
the midday heat sAimmering over its
majestic breadth broad band of
white in a setting of cooling green, 1
repeated to myself, GAY, it will last
for ever"
And as if in confirmation came the
ringing blow of the bill hook from
among the ash clumps below.-Lon-
Daily News.