Year: 1873

He was lost in the edge of the Adiron-
dack Wilderness. 1t must have been the
sound of the fail. Thud, thud, thud came
the beat Of the dull, humping strokes
through the thick, opaque, gray fog. Will
lie was hardly y four; and when once he was
a few rods away from the barn, oil on the
plain of monotonous yellow stubble, he
could not tell where he was, and could not
detect the deceptive mature Of the sound
and its echo. He could see nothing; which
ever way lie looked, wherever he walked,
there were the same reverberations and
the same narrow dome of watery gray was
everywhere shutting down. close around
him. As he followed the muffied sound,
in his efforts.,to get back to the barn, it
seemed 10 retreat from him, and he ran
faster to overtake it. He ran Oh and on,
and so was lost.


That night and tLe next day few neigh
bors, gathered from the adjoining farms,
searched for Willie. They wandered about
the fields and the margin of the wood, but
found no trace of the lost child. 1t became
apparent that a general search must be
made.


The fog had cleared away on the second
morning after Willie. was lost, as about a
hundred woodsmen, farmers and hunters
gathered from the farm and forest and set
Element near by, called Whiskey Hollow,
stood and sat in grotesque groups around
the little farm-houses and barns, waiting
the formation of the grand organization in
to line, preparatory.to sweeping the woods
and finding Willie.


During all the hours Of the two previous
nights, the lanterns and torches had been
flashing in and out behind the logs and
brush OF the fallows; and the patches of
snow, that fingered in spite of the April
rains, gave evidence hat every foot of the
adjacent clearing had been trampled over
in the search. But the men were not yet
satisfied that the search about the farm had
been thorough. Standing by tie house,
they could see the field of the nights work.
the level stubble Of the grain lot, and the
broad irregular hollow used as pasture and
filled with stumps and logs and brush.
Here and there could be seen men still
busy poking sticks under the logs and
working around bog holes in the low
RrOunu. ou see u StanuS 10 reaSOn.'
said Jim, addressing group by the house,
"that a little chap less than four years old
could not get out OF this clearing into the
woods"


A white-haired patriarch remarked with
great confidence and solemnity, "the boy
Is within half mile of the house, and If
can have command OF six men will find
him." The patriarch continued to press
his suggestion until he secured his compa-
ny and started off feeling that he carried
great weight Of responsibility. He Joined
the log explorers, but nothing came of the
search.


The morning was wearing away; the men
gathered from great distance, were impa-
tient of the delay to organize the line.
Willie had been out nearly forty eight
hours could II be that he had wandered
beyond the stubbled field into the forest
nearly half a mile from the house2 If he
had managed to cross the brook at the edge
Of the woods, he had the vast Adirondack
Wilderness before him. 1t was time 10
search thoroughly and upon large scale,
II the boy was to be found alive.


But a reason for delay was whispered
around-the fortune woman was coming.