Show L v the he light lagh t in the clearing 9 A TALE of cle the NORTH COUNTRY in the TIME of SILAS WRIGHT by IRVING BACHELLER author of elian HOLDEN HOLBEN DIU D IU ann AND 1 I DARREL OP TUB THE ISLES ISIE UP WITH LIZZIE etc etc copyright by irving Ilac beller BARTON LEARNS OF bf THE EXISTENCE OF A WONDERFUL POWER KNOWN AS MONEY barton y n an ditth goes to live allu with tits ills uncle Ile baynes and alq lil aunt beel oil it a farin on oi Batt leroid in ili a neighborhood called about the year 1820 ile ilc welts meets sally dunkelberg nebout its ills own age OKO but socially of oe a i class above tile Bayne ses and Is liv by hur pretty face and fine clothes clot lipi barton also meets roving kate known lit in tilt the neighborhood ns as the silent woman amos grims linw it young son soil of tilt lie ninn man lit in tile tho township Is n visitor tit nt the baynes home find hate tc tolls its it the ie boys fortunes predicting it bright blight future for barton Ili irton and dittli on oil the gallows for amos reproved for till nn net act of nil acl ilef barton runs away to make inako hla his homo home with etli ill the Dunkel dunkelbergr bergs ile do reaches iches clinton canton and fulls fu alls asleep on a porch elicio 0 o lie Is found liy fly wright jr it man prominent in public affairs who knowing peabody baynes takes darton barton honin hoino after buying him new bew cli dollies thes silas wright evinces much interest in ili barton and teals a box of books and to t tho 11 0 barnts home hoine A short time line inter tho election of mr air to tile the united totes states senate is a CHAPTER V 5 the great stranger some strangers come along the fond those lays days hunters peddlers nod and und and their coming coining filled me ino with a joy which mostly went vent away them I 1 regret to say any none of these however appealed appeal cd to my imagination as did old kate hut but there here was opo ope stronger stranger greater than sho she greater indeed than any other who came into ile iio canio rarely und and would riot not be long detained ilow how curiously wo we looked nt lint knowing hla his fanio and power this great stronger stranger was money I 1 shall never forget the lie day that my uncle showed me a dollar bill and t it 11 little shiny gold coln coin and three i pieces of fil fillier lver nor can I 1 forget how carefully lie he watched them while they my idy to lu my liandi and presently put them back into his wallet that was ivan long before tile utile time of which I 1 am writing I 1 remember hearing him say nay one day of that year when I 1 asked him to tako take us to the caravan of wild beasts which was coming to pie village im sorry borry but its been a hundred sundays since aiace I 1 lind had a dollar lit in my wallet for moro more than ton ten minutes ini I 1 have his old r recount book for tile the years of 1837 and 1838 here alere are some borne of the entries Illa laneW accounts with J doro thy and gave him my note for 2111 to bo be paid in salts january 3 1 1833 sold ten bushels of wheat to miner allner ut nt 00 cents canta to ile bo paid in ili goods sold two sheep to flavins curtis and took his note for 0 payable in boots on or before starch the first only ono one entry in more than a hundred mention money und this was vas tho sum of eleven cents received lu lit alance froni from a neighbor so it will ile bo seen that hat it ft spirit of 0 mutual served to help us over lover the rough going mr granshaw GrIni shaw however demard demara demar A d ills his i payin carlf anti and that I 1 find wits was main ly the habit of the moneylenders money lenders we were poor but dur air a verty will was not like taint liat of these alies dys in ili which 7 I 1 u yn va it was proud and tim y cle clinnly ily and well tod fed our father had sn been heroic service in tho the davs wais and we vi i knew it I 1 vas was twelve years old when I 1 began tb b lie e tile the reader for our little family allot deel had long on conn plaines that she ilie keep heep up lip with tier her knitting and road ten so BO much we had not slen mr wright tor for nearly two years but lie had lilt sent us the novels of sir walter scott ant and I 1 hall had led them heart deep into the creed buttles of old mortality a then come the evil days of 1837 when tile story of our lives begun began to quicken It its space pace and excite our interest in its coming coining chapters it gave us enough to think of god knows alid in land and the american Atner lean paper money system find brought us into rough going th the e banks of the city of new york and suspended rus payment of moir notes they could no longer meet their engagements gage ments As usual the burden fell heaviest on the poor it rashard wa was shard hard to get money even for cr black salts uncle peabody had been client sit ent and depressed for a month or more ile he had bad signed a note for rodney karnes barnes at cousin long before and was norald that lie he would have to pay it I 1 know what ft a note was and I 1 remember that one ong night when I 1 lay thinking about it I 1 decided that it must lie IB something in the nature of horse L colic if my uncle told tod mo me that n note L ans n trouble which tho the brain instead of the stomach nuch one autumn tiny day in ih canton uncle Ile peabody trailed traded three elices anti awen ty X bushels of wheat for n cook stove ani brought it homo in tile the big names came with mai him to help hf jp K wt t vp p the stove lie he was n big giant of a rann nian with the longest nose lit in tile township towns town Mp shAp I 1 inave have often wondered how anny ono Would would solve the problem of kissing airA nunns in the immediate eglet t of ins idi nose nose the same belne being in tilt the 1 lature iture ota defense f that anns chiefly ate r i cued in the stove whitt what a n joy it it to ro with It damper and eliis t i 4 tiles dies and high oven anti and the file edge on its licar 1 it rivaled ili ID its novelty and clin clintin rin any till peddlers eart that ever edme to our door john axtell and tits bli wife who had seen it puss their house hurried over for a look atit atit avery hand was on the lie stove as we tenderly carried it into the house piece by piece ond set it uti up then they cut a n hole in the upper floor rind tile stone chimney and fitted tile the pipe ilow how keenly we Q watched the ho building of the fire ilow how quickly it roared and began to heat the when tho the artells had gone away aunt deel said its grundl grand I 1 it Is sartin but im aruid wo cant afford it ayes I 1 bet wo we cant afford to freeze any anny longer I 1 madl made up tip my mind tit I 1 nd that we go through another winter ns as wu we have was my uncles answer illow how much did it cost she asked not much froni from thirty four dollars in sheep and grain lie ho answered barnes stayed to supper and spent a part of tile the evening with us aiko other settlers there mr names was vis hc erful opt optimist hillst everything looked good to hlin him until it turned out bailly lie ho told how ito ho had ligard heard that it was n growing country near the lie great water highway of the st lawrence prosperous towns were building up lip in it there were going to be great in ili Nort northern fiern new york there were rich tores of lend and iron in the rocks mr air names barnes hail had bought two hundred arres acres tit nt ten dollars an all acre lie ho hall to pay a fee of 0 live five per cent to arlin lawyer for ma yand the papers tills this left him owing fourteen hundred dollars on ills farm much more than it was worth our cousin twisted tho the poker lit in ills his great hands until it squeaked us 09 lie he stood before my uncle and sold said my aly wife unit I 1 have chopped and burnt tind pried and all hauled rocks ili 1111 shoveled tiling dung an am milked nn nil churned until wo we are arc worn out loor for fuenty icara ears ineve v been worlden wor ln jays tin lin nights an sundays my inor mortgage Ws overdue over due duo I 1 owed six hundred dollars on oil it I 1 thought it till nil over one tiny day nn an went up till to nn an took lint him toy by the back of tile lie neck tind shook jilin him ile he sat said lie would drive ino out ol 01 0 th tho country try he blvd me six months to pay up lip I 1 had bad t ti pay or lose losa the land I 1 got till the on oll tile the note that you signed over in potsdam nobody in cantori canton would a dared to lend it to to tile HIP why chyl my uncle asked farald 0 iio ife want me to lie be able to pay it the pince ls alsworth worth naro lian six hundred bundred dollars now tile reason I 1 intended 0 to o cut somo some umber nil an haul bout it to the village this winter so I 1 could 1 pay a part 9 the note tin au git more line us I 1 told ye hut but the roads have been beebi so bad I 1 do any haulin my undo uncle wont went and took a drink nt at tho the water ii pall till I 1 saw by tits his face that he li was unusually wrought lip P my heavens an earth I 1 lie ho exclaimed as lie he sat down again its the brain colic I 1 sold said to myself as I 1 looked rit at him sir barnes barncs seemed to hove have it also too much note I 1 whispered im awful borry sorry but ive tone done everything I 1 could 11 said mr barnes aint there somebody tako mortgage it ought to bo be kafi now my uncle suggested money jolley la Is so glit it cant ho he done the bank lins has got till all the lie money nil an owns tile tho bank ivo ive find and tried but ill ninke make you safe ill Blo youn a until I 1 can turn tura round 11 so I 1 saw how flow rodney names barnes like other settlers sett lera in had gone into bondage to the land landlord lordo illow how enuch do you owe on this place names barnes asked seven hundred an fifty dol dollars collais lais sold eald my uncle Is it lue due its been duo due a year anif I 1 have to pay ay that note ill be short my interest 11 f rc god 0 israel t im sculpt said raid undo Fe e bally down don crashed tho stick of wood litlo into tho the box what about jt it would bo be like him to put tile screws on oil you now youve got ic be teven him film nil all ills its prey youve taken the giouse finny awny from the cut cat I 1 remember the little panic that fell on us then I 1 could see tears lit in tho the eyes ees of aunt deel us as she fiat with tier hend leaning wearily on tier her hand if lie he does ill do 10 nil all I 1 can call bald s ild barnes whatever vc ive got wilt will be yours sours rodney barnes left us till and I 1 r remember how uncle peabody ethod in the middle of the floor and whistled the hit iner merriest riest tune lie ho knew stand right up here lie culled called in 11 lila Is most cheerful tone lone stand stan right u I 1 here bafo r G me inc both 0 ye yc I 1 got aunt deel fly by the hand nod led tier her toward my iny uncle wo a stood facing III in stand straighter he demanded now altogether one two three ready rell ily sing ile he heat beat time flail with his hand I 1 in I 1 imitation of the singing blueing master tit nt tile the schoolhouse anti we joined him lit in slinging singing nn old tune which began I 1 oh keep keel my heart from sadness badness god this irresistible spirit of the mon bridged a had hour und and got us off to bell bed in fairly good condition A few days later inter the note come came duo and its owner insisted upon full pigment there was such it clamor for money those dayal I 1 remember that my aunt had sixty dollars which sho had saved little by little by selling eggs and chickens sho she lifted planned to use it to buy a tombstone for tier her mother and father a long cherished my ily uncle needed the most M 4 ia 0 14 I 1 I 1 4 zhe V one two three ready sing of it to help pay the note we drove to potsdam on oil that sail sad errand and what it ahne 0 we o hid had getting there tharo anti anil back in deep mud unit and blind und ami jolting over corduroys 1 Il hart ellirt iny uncle said the next evening as I 1 too took down tile book to 1 I gues wed hotter better tulle talk things over it a little tonight those these nrc are hard tines times if wu we con can flail find anny anybody with W money enough to buy ein cm I 1 dulla dianno lii tit wo Q better sell bell tile sheep it if you iou been n tool my mint exclaimed tit a tool look v i grent great distress it if you been a n fool im just what I 1 be tin an I 1 aint so BO lilg big a fool that I 1 to bo be reminded of it sald alry ay iy uncle ill stay home an work I 1 pro posed bri bravely wely you aint old enough for that sighed aunt deel 1 I want to keep you in ili school said eald uncle peabody re who vw sat bat look making ing n splint broom while we were in walked benjamin the rich tran roan of tile the hills stop to knock lut but walked right in fit us as it if tile house veto cre ills his own it was coin ion gossip that lie hild held a mortgage on oil every acro acra of tho the countryside I 1 lind never liked him for lie was a stern eyed runn man who was alway scolding r body ani I 1 lind hid 11 not I 1 it fo forgotten of t e n wb what a t 11 ills Is eon had said of him good night I 1 he curtly us its he sat iowa down and set ills cino between hla his feet nod and rested lila hands upon it lie ile spoke hoarsely nod I 1 remember tile the curious notion come to me inc that lie he looked like our old ram aniu ile he won a thin gray beard under tinder his ats clien ills mouth wils tight in a long line curving downward a little nt at the ends my uncle used to say that tits ills mouth was made to keep ills his thoughts front from leaking and going to waste ile ho had bad a big body a big clita a big mouth a big nose noo and big cars and hands ills ilia eyes lay small in this setting of 0 bigness why mr grimshaw its years a sanco nee youve been in our house said aunt deel 11 1 suppose it la 19 11 he answered rath er cr sharply 1 I loot doot have much limn to get around A 1 have bave to work theres some people seem to be able to git along without it I 1 see youve youe j got one 0 these newfangled stoves I 1 lie ha a added ns an lie he looked it over hull I 1 idich folks can have anything they ft ant uncle peabody lind had sat bat splintering tile long stick of yellow birch I 1 observed that the jackknife trembled in ills hand ills 1111 toxic tone had a u touch of unnaturalness proceeding no doubt from lit h fear of at the man before him as lie said when I 1 bought that stove I 1 felt racier than I 1 do now I 1 had enough to settle with you up to date but I 1 signed a note for a friend and lind to puy pay it ILI axuel I 1 suppose so grimshaw answered in a tone of bitter irony which cut me like it u knife blade awing nag if 1 wits was what business have you ou notes nil na givin away mony mon y which aint nent yours to give id like to know what business have you sou like a rich lunn when you canti cant puy pay yer ui honest I 1 lest debts rd id like to kaow I 1 now tint that too it if ive IM ver er noted ilke 1110 it a rich ilch its heen been when I 1 want lookin sald uncle Il enbody what business have alae you ou to ro c en ell If irgin yer far family tilly talan another illguth to feed and another body to spin for that costs money I 1 want to tell you yon one tiling thing baynes bancs youve sot got to pay up or git out 0 here heit 1 lie ile malsed la coal and shook it in tile air as he spoke oh I 1 nent no doubt 0 that sold said uncle Ile have to hae yer ser money sure an you ou will haye have it if I 1 live every cent of it this bor bo is goin to bo be a great help to into aou ou dont know what n good boy lie he Is if and what a comfort lies been to us these words of my beloved uncle uncovered my ay emotions at so that I 1 put my lay elbow oa the wood box and leaned my head upon it und and sobbed eol bed 1 I aint coln to bo be hard on ye daynes baynes said mr Gr ar linshaw ns as he rose from ills his chair til ill give yo ie three months to see sec what you cun can do I |