The Press., 1911-08-23

cry, to my thinking, than one of those
 fittle patched up, tumbledown, moss
 covered water mills of the olden time.
 They are always situated at the lower
 end of a pond, nestling under trees
 and half buried in shrubbery. They
 speak of a past when farmers were
 used to carrying a sack or two of
 grain to mill on horseback before them
 to have 1t ground. Now the grain is
 grown on bigger farms in bigger bulk,
 and the individual farmers product is
 lost in Q great cereal river that flows
 to mills driven by steam and with
 stacks towering hundreds of feet high.
 Progress is there. but the little water
 min of the past is only useful to fur
 nish themes for the artist.
 am one of these knights of the
 brush myself One day, coming upon
 such a simple scene as I have men,
 toned, I opened my three legged stool,
 set up my easel and began to work in
 my colors. have the picture made
 Of the mill, and no money would in-
 duce me to part with 1t. There Is a
 story connected with it, told me while
 4
 my fancy, rendered my work especial ly successful. The picture and the
 story go together.
 While was at work a man under faded straw hat and suspenders un- covered by coat or waistcoat came up behind me and looked at my work. He was a middle aged countryman, with those furrows in his face that seem to be transferred there from his eyes being constantly fixed on furrows made by his blow. He seemed to take Q deep interest in my picture.
 There's somep'n wanted on that little space beside the wheel" he said.
 'sWhat's thatT' asked.
 "A boy and girl"
 ~What boy and girlT'
 "Somep'n happened there onct. hin tell y about it if y want to hear. h"
 "Go ahead"
 ~It's about myself and the girl. was nigh on to seventeen, and Janey was fifteen. Children haven't got any sense, and Janey wasn't much past bean' child. We had been playin' together when we was at an age to play, and now we was a little older we kept on playin' together. Anyway, Janey was a wild little thing and up to all sorts of pranks. What I was doan' about this time I'm speakin' of was trytn' to keep her from tumblin' oR the peak of the barn roof, or falliD' down through a hole in the haymow | Aoor, or g1ttin' drowned in the pond
 "One day we was over there where c dirt road led down to the mill. It's all grown over with grass now, but you can see where it was. At that tame the mill was run whenever there was any grain to grind, and when there wasn't the water was turned oG the sluice. That day it was turned oR. 1
 '@The first thing knew Janey she climbed out on to the wheel. Her weight was just enough to turn it and let her down slow. While she was Gtnkin' she looked at me and laughed. Xt was a purty enough laugh, but somehow didn't like to see her goin' down into that hole, cause there | wasn't any way for her to git out. It | was walled in, except near the top, | where an opening had been left to let | the water out Of course when Janey | got to the bottom the wheel stopped turnin'.
 '~Then I asked Janey to stand on 1t and let me turn it and her back ag'in. but she got of and dared me to come down I can see her eyes now just as they looked then with a lot of dev- Etry in 'em.
 'There was two gimpletons instead | of one. got on to the wheel, and it | turned quicker with my weight than | with hers. joined her at the bottom, | and Ahe was amusin' herself in all | sorts of ways, dancin' and runnin' | around the wheel and hollerin' to hear | how queer it. sounded down there. | Two or three times tried to git her | to let me take her out It wouldn't | be an easy matter in any event. The | only way it could be done was for us | to balance each other by climbin' on l opposite sides of the wheel. But if | the water should be turned on we | couldn't do that.
 ''F1rst thing knew heard somep'n moved student above, and down come | the water. looked at Janey. scared out of my boots. but Janey seemed to consider 1t good joke. the little fool, and began to dance about in the wa ter on the stone floor. But gradually | the water rose. From the bottom to the lowest part of the wheel 1t was up to our necks. lifted Janey on to the wheel and got up myself. The only thing for us to do was to climb as the wheel turned.
 "I shouted with all my might, hopin' the miller would hear me. But he was inside the mill, and the noise of the water down where we was was enough to drown any boys voice. looked about for somep'n to stop the wheel with, but there wasn't a stick as long as my arm anywhere. The only hope I had was that the miller had a small lot of grist to grind and h9d git through before we was tired out But didn't think he'd start the ntn for less than two or three hours grind.
 "Janey stood up we'll for about half an hour-it seemed four times as long then she. began to give out. The only thing could do with her was to brace her up by putin my arm back of her. She didn't seem frightened or ready to cry, but she looked at me with ! tired smile and kept on workin' the rreadmill. But purty soon she got so tired knew she'd have to git rest, and I ooked about for somep'n to cling to lway from the wheel. There was a oreak in the old wall surroundin' the wheel that left one of the stones so Ke could git our hands on it. I push d off with Janey, and we chung to the tone. =ssvxy. ,.,>A q. tw,,,s os = A r. IA I S