The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-02-21
THE HOLLOW
LOG
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1912, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

pains and aches, but said that the girl
he married knew all about his laziness
beforehand and must therefore abide
the results. As she made no kick about
earning with her needle the main sup
port. the public did not feel toward him
as 1t otherwise might.
All lazy men are more or less opt-
MYSTIC. Tom White was wholly SO.
ANY man who lost a cow or horse by
death, any one that had barn burned
by lightning. any one that bought
old brick of passing stranger. was
made to feel that life still held some
thing for him after talk with Tom.
Tom White was lazy, but he was not
q liar. Lying and laziness generally
20 together. The community took this
into account when sizing him up and
said Of him:
NO matter how lazy he is. you can
always believe what he says"
One evening after Tom had been the
champion lazy man of the village for
| fifteen years he had seat with half
q dozen other men around the redhot
stove In Snyder's grocery. He hadn't
been doing any talking when all OF
sudden be said:
"Boys, l had singular dream We'd
nesday night. and it was repeated
Thursday and Friday nights"
WAS it hard work?" was laughingly
asked by one.
Il thought you looked done up" add
| ed second.
Nearly all had some remark to make,
and when they were through Tom con-
| tinued:
You have all dreamed all sorts OF
! dreams. but femme ask if any one here
has ever dreamed Of a boiler log"
Beech. oak or maple?
II dunno. Jest hOller log"
'In the woods or where?"
"Didn't seem to be in the woods In
my case, and yet l can't say where
else"
"How long was it?'
"Ten or twelve feet. mebbe."
"Was the hollow large enough for
you to crawl int0?"
lC WAS SOIuc lluuG UctOiG tdSy WYNN
take the man seriously. but his serious
| face and sober answers finally prevail
| ed. and he said:
Il didn't dream that was walking
anywhere. but did dream that stood
beside boiler log with an Ak in hand.
| There was some one else near by, and
voice said:
"'Tom, split it open:
Eyes. boys, the voice said. them
words. and obeyed the command"
"And out jumped dozen rabbits. and
you killed them all and are going to
have rabbit potpie for fortnight to
Gomez?
mo rabbits jumped out"
"What did,"
1.-THE log was punky rs well as boiler.
Two or three blows split it wide open,
and there in the middle of the boiler
was an old tomato can. 1t looked as
| If it had been there for forty years"
! But you are not going to tell us
! that the tomatoes were spOiled?"
Boys. the contents Of that can could
] not spiIe in Thousand years. The can
/ was sealed up, and when broke II
! open it was full Of twenty dollar gold
pieces"
by George!"
"You don't say"
"But it was only dream!"
"Jest dream" replied Tom. "but
| dream d it three nights running, you
must emember."
"Shucks-" exclaimed one of the lis
teners after moment of silence.
1--WE all know what dreams are. There
isn't a man in the state that ever
dreamed anything that came to pass"
"Reckon not" was Toms comment.
"But you think this will?"
''Of course"
'Then you haven't got the sense of
q chickadeer'
II know it. but it will come to pass.
I'm going to look for that boiler log
and find it. There's can Of gold In it. )"
In day or two the whole town was
discussing the dream. and the people
were pretty evenly divided. No matter
how vigorously the opposition denied
the dream business. they We're among
those that shouldered axes and Went
hunting through field and forest in
search Of hollow logs. This search
continued for week and then was
given up. Tom White himself did not
participate. 1t was cold weather. and
he said he would wait for spring. If
the others found the log and the gold
it would be their good luck.
One hot day in July he sat down
| ur der cherry tree in his back yard.
and with his back braced against the
trunk he fell asleep. BY and by his
wife came to the door and called:
tom. want to bake some pies, and
| you must split some wood"
The wood pile consisted of two or
three old logs and chunks left over
| from the winter. Slowly the sleeper
| rubbed his eyes and got to his feet. and
after bit he lifted the Ak and began
on one Of the logs. The third blow
split it in half.
WAS the can there?"
cit sure was.''
"And full Of gold?"
"The same"
Who put that can there and when
didn't count. Tom got it and used it
| and Is using it still. and the most he
has had to say when questioned about
dreams was:
"You see, it was a holler log I dream
ed Of"