The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1922-11-15
THE
STRANGE BOY
Cepyrisht. 1922. by the Macmillan Co.

WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE

Into life with the first full tide of
youth. At the Manual they had been
making things with their hands In
wood and iron and stone. Creation
seemed good to them. And they
talked, making their tomorrow kind
of exalted yesterday. which is the way
II youth. An oi3 party of forty-five.
sitting near taem reading musty
hook that bad been off the list of best
sellers for six long months, closed the
book over his finger 20 mark the place
while he listened 70 the chatter of
the boys.
There was talk of days walk
in the cCUntry; OF a raft to be made
At the river undcr the scout-master's
direction of fishing tackle to be had
At the towns store; where the best
rods might be bought; what minnows
were worth. Some consideration was
gwen Ia the various grades Of khaki
Ior scouting suits.
They were good scouts of the first
and second classes. and much of their
chatter was of camp and field.
The boys were lying on a lawn be-
meath lie stone veranda railing
wherein his old feet rested. From
Jime to fine the youngsters looked
~ as automobiles went whizzing by
and in monosyllables checked off the
makers and perhaps the owners OF
the machines; but the checking did
not stay their talk of the glorious to-
morrows. silvered and gilded with
yesterdays.
Canned" sighed the old party.
Canned boys" he repeated.
The boys looked up and, seeing
the feet disappear from the railing,
Thirteen rose quickly and said as he
appeared:
Eyes, sir. What was 1t, Father?
Did you speakY
The old party shook his head, and
the boys stretched out again on the
blue grass. As ne opened his book
and fumbled for his place, over the
page top he saw, coming round the
house from the rear. a thin. freckled,
barefooted youth, with long trousers
rolled up halfway to his knees, show.
ing the lowered calico lining. Sus
penders striped the shoulders of the
boys coarse-chccked blue-and-whte
cotton shirt. Twisted into his right
Suspender was Y-shaped stick,
wound with rubber. whereon a dla'
mond-shaped leather piece danglcd
from two strings.
tsyf tt.,N l,nfh
rest YOUR said the man; and as the
strange boy grinned the old party
asked: "Where have you been SO
lOng?"
The other boys did not seem tCI
notice the strange boy, who srumbied
IS he sat down beside them:
"Dolng my chores. Old Sooky's
calf like to never got her supper out
" this bucket And old Sooky tried
TO hold up on me. think they
ought to make somebody brush the
flies off while | milk. bet old SoOky
lit me In the eye dozen times with
her tail. Say, they's d mangerful of
Kittens In the south stall"
The other boys looked up when the
old party shifted his feet 'and
grOaned:
"Oh! These are not real boys
they're canned DoySl All the other
industries have left the home for
,he cannery-why not b0y-makng?
Here, bOys." The Old party lifted
his voice sharply.
"Yes. SIR cried Fourteen. rising
Hgllely and salutins.
(which one of you knows what
wood makes the best arrows? Which
one of you ever seasoned a piece of
hickory behind the stove over the
wood box all winter for your bow? DO +!
you know what bodark isf'
''Nes. Sir" replied Thirteen. at
is Il corruption of the French words
bois dare. meaning wood Of the arch.
and is probably an Indian transla-
t,on Of the French habitant's word
describing the tough, sprlngy wood OF
the Usage orange, or common hedge
plant"
The strange boy grinned and the old
party answered:
"Oh, grand Now then. Bud, you
tell them about the bodark."
The boys sat down, and the old
PARTY took the words from the |
strange boys mouth and went on:
'Bodark Is "A hard brown wood and
makes the best bow you ever saw
better than hickory even. Few boys
that I know ever had a bodark bow,
though all of them knew that the |
Indians priced bodark highly.
SAY. bOys"Ithe man addressed him.
self to the youths whose faces
beamed cterubically over the rail
suppose you could have Babe
Ruth and Douglas Fairbanks, and
the greatest scoutmaster in the world.
and the greatest football player,
all rolled into one right here In the
yard-who would wait In the barn
while you"
what barn?" cut In precise Thir.
teen.
well. the garage. then"-the man