The Washington herald., 1911-09-03

fairly roar with amusement.
He was an awkward looking boy
of fifteen. with complexion Ike
putty, unkempt yellow hair, and he wore such
nondescript garments as are not to be seen
far away from the mountain region of North
Carolina.
His name was Wilson Dushheld; to his
friends and paymatcs he was Just PLAN
Wise" to the elders of the neighborhood
he was "ole Jake Bushfeld's boy"
Brushy Face Mountain was so far from
civilization. and even so far from the post
office and school house-nlne miles away
that Wise had grown up with as little idea
OF the great world about HIM and all lts
modern improvements as had his iaVor1te
hound, even the bear cubs which he knew
lived down in the laurel brush, near the
creek.
But Mrs Bushfeld was alive to the advan.
tages OF education; so Wise went to school
in Jackson's Valley-seVcn miles walk by the
shortest cut across the mountains he dd
the chores and odd jobs on Squire Pattons
farm, near the school, to pay Tor his BOARD
and walked home whenever he chose on Sat
urday afternoons to stay over Sundays.
1t was on one of these Saturday atternoorn
in early winter when Wise, having done all
the chores for Squire Patton's wife, started
home across the ravines and ridges, seven
miles away.
1t is a good, strong walker who can follow
one of these mountain short cuts, sklrtlng
along the ridge side, or right up the bed OF
some mountain rivulet, or through mighty
laurel thicket and make more than two and
half miles an hour. So Wise knew that
he would get home an hour after dark, though
he started in the middle of the afternoon;
but little he minded this, for the last OF MS
road was near home and we'll known to HIM,
down the side of old Brushy Face, often IN
plain sight Of the smoke from his father s
cabin Then, too, he had with him the old
fashioned, muzZle-loadlng rife which he al,
-,.-l ht,,,
fear never entered the hoy's head as long as
he was out on the mountains and away from
the city folks" as he called every, one who
lived in a settlement, however small 1t might
be-
As he crossed over the last ridge and be-
gan the final descent, which would bnng him
TO his home, he surprised to notice that
the tall, straight column OF uprising smoke
was not to be seen coming IRON It's CHM
ney Of sticks and dried mud;
Just then however, a wild turkey new up
at his feet and by the time he had followed
it up, shot it, and started again on ms way,
it was too dark to see the little cabin IN the
hollow
The turkey was heavy, and Wise had come
a GOOD distance over a steep and slippery
road so it was no wonder that he had 10 stop
and rest several times on the remainder oil
his way.
At the last stop, as he sat on a fallen tree
not more than a quarter of a mile from his
fathers clearing, he heard a cracking IN the
underbrush, and a sprnglng step, winch at
first he took for that OF old Nose, his mon
grcl deer hound but, as there was no bound
ing glad reply to his whistle nor to hls most
coaxing call, he knew it must be bear,
panther or some other "varmlnt."
lie was not surprised then to find, as he
trudged on home, that he was being followed
by the wild animal which was evidently at
tracted by the smell of the fat turkey, which
he had thrown over his shoulder; neither
was he alarmed, since he knew that shot
from his rife or a bark from old Nose, when
he heard his young master coming over the