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Show I 1 The Light in the Clearing I A TALE of the NORTH COUNTRY In the TIME of SILAS WRIGHT J By IRVING BACHELLER B Author of EREN HOLDEN. I) HI AND I. DARR.EL Or THE BLESSED H ISLES. KEEPING UP WITH LIZZIE. Etc Etc. HH Onpyrlffht by Irving nrlnUrr I a HH CHAPTER XVI Continued. H 16 HH "One dn.r the ol' squire Rot me to dig HB thin grave an' put up the headstone an' HB then he tor me MM story. Lit turned HB the poor gal out o' doors. '-'"I o' H Israel I It wan In the Bight rle, air H It wan In the night that he suit hrr B, away. Gnldnrn him I lit- didn't linv HH no more lipart than a grasshopper -no, HB all- not :i hit. I could 'u' brain. d him H ' with my shovel, hut I didn't. HB "I found out wlii re the gal lind gone HB an' I follered her ylM I did found HB her In the pool house way over on B Pnaaley IIIU uh Iraki She Jes' put Hi her anus 'round my neck an' cried an' HjjB rrled. I guess 'tuns 'muse I looked H I lol o' friendly uh huh ' I toT her HJ she should mine i -1 . over to our Hb house an' stuy Jest us lone as she HJ wanted to ns soon as she cot well f via. sir, I did. HB "She whs sick all summer long HJb bind o' out n' her head, ye know, mi' II HB used to go over hossbnck an' take HB things fer her to eat. An' one day BH when I was over there they was w nn- Hi derln' what they was goln' to do -ltli HB her little linhy. I took It In my arms HB an' I'll he gol dummed If It didn't grab HB hold o' my nose an' hnn ou 111 . a H Ptippy to a root. When they tried to HB take it uway it grabbed its fingers Into HB my whiskers an' hollered like a pan- HB ther yls, air. Wul, ye know 1 Jes' HI fetched that little baby boy home In Hi my arms, uy uh ! My wife scolded me B like Sum Hill yls, air she had five Hfl of her own. I tol' her I was goln' to Hfl take It hark In a day er two but after Hi It had been In the bouse three days yo HB couldn't 'a' pulled It awuy from her HJ with a windlass. Hfl "We brought him up an' he wan nl Hi whmm a good boy. We called him Hb Kboclt Enoch Roue did ye ever hear H tu name?" H 'No.' H "I didn't think 'twas likely but I'm H alwuna hopln'. H "Rarly that fall Kate got better an' Hi loft the pocrhouse afoot. Went away HJ somewhere nobody knew where. Hi Homo aa(d she'd crossed the lake an' BH gone away over Into York state, some B said she'd drowned herself. By'm by HB we heard that she'd gone way over HB into St. Laurence county where Silas Hi Wright lives an' where young Grlm- HB shaw had settled down after ho got HB" ' married. B "Wal, 'bout five year ago the squire HJ hurled his second wife there 'tis over H la there back o' Kate's with the little B apeckled angel on It Nobody hnd seen HJ the squire outside o' his house for HJ years until the funeral he wus crlp- M pled so with rhcumatls. After that he HJ lived all 'lone In the big house with ol' HJ Tom Mtiney an' his wife, who've H worked there for 'bout forty year, 1' B Uess. H "Wal, sir, fust we knew Kate was ' J there In the house llvln' with her fit- H tier. We wouldn't 'a' knowed It, then, HJ If It hudn't been that Tom Llnncy HJ come over one duy an' said lie guessed HJ the ol' squire wanted to see inc no, HJ air, we wouldn't fjf the squire ain't HJ eoclable an' the uelghbors never durk- HJ en his door. She must 'a' come In the HJ night, Jest as she wont- nobody see HJ her go an' nobody see her come, an' !BB that's a fact Wul, one day las' fall after the leaves was off an' they could eee a corner o' my house through the J hushes, Tom was wall. in' the ol' man m 'round the room. All to once he HJ atopped an' p'lnted at my house HJ through the winder an' kep' p'lntln'. HJ Tom come over an' suld he ca'llutcd HJ the squire wanted to see me. So I HJ wem there- Kate met me at the door. HJ Gosh! How old an' kind o' broke down HJ she looked I Hut 1 knew her the min- HJ ute I set my eyes on her uh huh un' HJ aha knew me yls, sir she smiled i,n' HJ tears come to her eyes an' she putted HJ my band like sb wanted to tell me HJ that she hudn't forgot, but she never HJ suld n word not a word. The ol' HJ aqulre hud the puhty, so t he couldn't HJ use his hands un' his throut wus purn- HJ lyted couldn't speak nor nothln'. m Where do ye suppose be wus when I found him?" I "In bedT I asked. H "No, sir no, alreel He was lu hell HJ thut's where he was reg'lur ol' fush- H toned, down-east hell, buruln' with fire HJ aii' brlmstun, that he'd had the agency HJ for an' had recommended to every sin H tier In the neighborhood. He wus set- HJ tin' In his room. God o' Isr'el ! You HJ orto 'a' seen the motions he miide with HJ bis hands an' the way lie tried to HJ a eak when I went In there, but nil I HJ could heur whs Jest u long yell un' u HJ kind of u rattle lu his throat. Heavens HJ an' ulrth! how desperit be tried to H spit out the thing that was guiiwtn' H bis vltuls. Ag'in un' ug'in he'd try to H tell me. Lord God ! how he did work !" HJ "All to once It come acro.st me what HJ he wanted quick us ye could say scut. HJ He wanted to have Kate's hendstun HJ tool, down an' put awuy thut's what HJ he wanted. The stun wus kind ' luy- HJ in' on his Btummlck un' puiniii' of bin H day an night. He couldn't stun' It. HJ He knew that he wus coin' to dlu purty am aoon an' tluit Kute would come here HJ an' see It an' that crybody would HJ see her ttundln' ncre &y HOT OWE grave, aa' it wo rled 1dm. It was kind o' like HJ kaj in nia belly. H "7 fvaas. usfc he couldu't bx the H Idee of layln' down fer his las' sleep In side that hell holo he'd dug fer Kute no, sir! "Wal, ye know, irlMer, I Jes' shook inj head an' never let on that I knew what he meant an' let him wiggle nn' twist like a worm on a hot griddle, an' I. oiler like a cut bull 'til he fell back In a swoon. "Ihunn htm 1 It don't give him no rest. He tries to tell everybody bt sees that's what they say. He hellers hel-lers day an' night an' If you go down there he'll heller to you an' you'll know what It's about hut the others don't. "You IB1 me ure the only or.es thnt knows the aecret, I giios-s. Some day, 'fore he dies, I'm goin' to take up that hCBdOTBE an' hide It, but he'll never know It's done no. sir not 'til he gits to the Judgment arat, iinywny." The old man rose mid straightened himself and blew v( his breath and brushed his hand upon his trousers by way of stepping down Into I his world again out of the close and dusty loft of his memory. Hut I called him buck. "What has become of Enoch?" I nuked. "Wul. sir, Enoch sturted off West 'bout three year ago un' we uln't heard a word from him since that duy nnry a word, mister. I suppose we will somo t'tne, He grew Into a good miin, but there whs a kind of a queer streak In Ihe blood, ns ye might suy, on both sides kind o'. We've wrote letters out to Wisconsin, where he was p'lntln' for, an' to places on the wny, but we Can't git no news 'bout him. Mebbe be was killed by the Injuns." We walked out of the graveyard together to-gether In silence. I could see a glimmer of a light In the thicket of pines down the valley. I unhitched and mounted my horse. "Take the first turn to the right" aald the old man as be picked up his scythe. "I'm very much obliged to you." I aald. "No ye nln't, nuther," he answered. "Lenstwuys there ain't no reuson why ye should be." My horse. Impatient as ever to find the end of the road, hurried me along ' and In a moment or two we were down under the pine grove that surrounded the house of old Squire Fullerton a big, stone house with a graveled road uroiind It. A grent black dog came burking and growling at me from the front porch. I rode nround the house and he followed. Beyond the windows I could see the gleam of candlelight and moving figures. A man came out ol the bnck door as I neared It. "Who's there?" he demanded. "My nuuie Is Burton Biiynes from St. Lawrence county. Kute Fullerton Is my friend and I wish to seo her." "Come up to the steps, sor. Don't git off yer horse 'til I've chained the dog. Kill. ''II be out In a minute." He chained the dog to the hitching post and us ho did so u loud, long, wulllng cry broke the silence of the house. It put me In mind of the complaint com-plaint of int damned which 1 remem-bi remem-bi red hearing the minister describe yeurs before at the little schoolhouse lu . LIckltyspllt. How It burrowed me! The man went Into the house. Soon he came out of the door with n lighted cnndle In his band, a woman following. How vividly I remember the little murmur mur-mur of delight thnt cunie from her lips WBBh be held the candle so that Its light fell upon my fuee! I Jumped off1 my horse und gave the reins to the mun und put my uiins nround the poor woman, whom I loved for her sorrows und for my debt to her. and rained I isses upon her withered cheek. Oh God! whut a moment It wus for both of us ! The way she held me to her breust nnd putted my shoulder Bad said "my boy!" In a low, faint, treble voice so like that of a child It Is one of the best memories thllt I take with me Into the new life now so near, from which t there Is no returning. She led me Into the bouse. She I looked very ueut now In a black j gown over which was a spotless white I nprou and collar of lace and much i more slender than when I had seen I her last. She took me Into a largo room In the front of the house with a I carpet and furniture, handsome once but now worn und decrepit. Old, time-Stained time-Stained engravings of scenes from the Bible, fruuied In wood, hung on the walls. I geld nil that I had heard from home and of mv life lu Coblesklll but observed, presently, a faruwiiy look In her eyes nnd Judged thnt she was not bearing me. she whispered: "Sally?" "She has been at school In Albnnv lor n yenr," 1 said. "She In ut home now and I am going to see her." "You love Sally?" aba whispered. "Hotter than I love my life." Again she whispered: "Get martini!" mar-tini!" "IVe hope to In 1S-H. I have agreed to meet her by the big plno tn on tho river bank lit eleven o'clock the third of .Tp'o, 1844. We ure looking forward for-ward to that dav." A tall, slim woman entered the room then and said that supper was ready. Kate rose with a smile viia I foil "Wed her Into the dining room where two Ubles were sprcud. Uue bud certain I d'sbes on It nnd a white cover, frayed nnd worn. She led me to the other table which was neatly covered with snowy linen. Tho tnll woman served j a supper on deep blue chlnn, cooked ns only they could cook In old New England. Meanwhile I could hear the voice of the oged squire a weird, empty, Inhuman voice It was, utterly (lit off from his Intelligence. It came out of the troubled depths of his misery, So that house the scene of his grent sin which would presently lie ihwti with him In the dust was flooded, flood-ed, a hundred times n day, by tho unhappy un-happy spirit of Its master. In the dead of the night I heard Its despair echoing through the silent chambers. Kate said little ns we ute, or a we sat together 111 the shabby, great room after rapper, but she seemed to enjoy ( my talk and I went Into the details of my personal history. The look on her face, even while I was speaking, Indicated that her thoughts wandered, restlessly, In the gloomy desert of her past. I thought of tluit gny, birdlike youth of hers of which the old man with the scythe , hnd told me, and wondered. As I was thinking of this there came n cry from the aged squire so loud and doleful that It startled me und I turned und looked toward the open door. Kate rose and came to my side and leaned toward my ear whispering: "It Is my father. He Is always thinking think-ing of when I was a girl. He wants me." She bade me good night nnd left the room. Doubtless It was the out- I raged, departed nplrlt of that golden tlmo which was haunting the old squire. A Bible lay on the table near me and I sut reading It for an hour or I no. A tall clock In a corner solemnly tolled the hour of nine. In came the tall woman nnd asked me In tho brogue of the Irish: "Would you like to go to bed?" "Yes, I am tired." She took a candle and led me up a biond oaken stairway nnd Into a room of the most generous proportions. A big four-post bedstend, druped In White, stood against a wall. The bed, .hooted In old linen, hnd quilted cot-ers. cot-ers. The room was noticeably clean; Its furniture of old mahogany and Its carpet comparatively unworn. Wheu I undressed I dreaded to pnt cut the cundle. For the first time In years I hnd a kind of cblld-fenr of the nit lit But I went to bed at Inst and flept rnther fitfully, waking often when the cries of the old squire came flooding flood-ing through the walls How I longed for the light of the morning! It come at last and I roso and dressed und went out of doors. Kate met me at the door when I went buck Into the house and kissed my cheek and again I beard those liilf-spoken words: "My boy." I ate my breakfast with her nnd when I waa I about to get Into my saddle at the door I gave her a bug nnd, as she tenderly patted my cheek, a Mulle I lighted her countenance so that It seemed to shine upon me. I have never forgotten Its serenity and sweetness. r CHAPTER XVII. ' I Stirt In a Long Way. We reached Cunton ut six o'clock In the evening of u beautiful summer duy. I went at once to cull upon the 1 Minkelbergs ami learned from a man Et work In the dOOTjmrd that they had gone nway for the summer. I low keen was my disappointment! I went to the tavern and got my supper and then over to A-diory lime to see Ml chael llacket and Ins family. 1 found the schoolmaster plajlng tils violin. "Now God be praised here is Bart !" he exclaimed as he put down 1:1s Instrument and took my hands In his. "I've heard, my boy, how bravely ye've weathered the cupes un' I'm proud o' ye t tin t I inn!" I wondered what he meant for a second und then asked: "How go these days with you?" "Swift ns the weaver's shuttle," he, answered. "Sit you down, while I cnll the family. They're out in the kitchen putting the dishes nway. Many hands make light labor." They came quickly and gathered about me u noisy, happy group. The younger children kissed me and sat on my knees a ml gave me tho sinull news of the neighborhood. How good were the look of those friendly fares and the full-henrted pleasure of the whole family ut my coming ! "What a Joy or the Spars room!" exclaimed the selmolu aster. "Sure I wouldn't wonder If tho old bed was denela' on Its fuur lege this very minute." min-ute." "I Intend to walk up to the hills to night" I said. "I'p to the hills!" he exclaimed merrily. mer-rily. "An' the llackets ly In' awake tlni'lcln' o' ye on the dark road! Try It, boy. an' ye'll get a crtick with the ruler nnd un hour ufter school. Yer BUnt and uncle will be stronger to stand yer comln' with the night's rest upon them. Ye wool lift be roiifln' them out o' bi d an' they lifter a hurt! day with the Imyln'! Then, my klnd-beetted klnd-beetted led, ye must give a thought to Miceael Henry. He's null allv v ttronger than rr rhniiic God!" So, although I longed for thoso wl deaf to me up In the hills. I spent the night with the llackets and the school-mnnter school-mnnter and I snt an hour together after af-ter the family hud gone to bed. "How are the Iiunkelberg'sT' 1 asked. "Sunk In the soft embrace o' l ury," he answered. "Grlmshnw made him: Grlmshnw liked blm. He wna always ready to lick the boots o' Grtn shnw. It turned out that Grlmshaw left him an annuity of three thousand dollars, which he can enjoy aa long as he observes one condition." "What Is that?" "He must not let his daughter marry mar-ry one Burton Bnynes, late o' the town o' Bnllybeen. How Is that for spite, my boy? They say It's written down In the will." I think that he must have seen the flume of color playing ou my face, for he quickly added : "In't worry, lnd. The "rill o' God Is greater than the will o Grlmshaw. He made you two for each other and she will he true to ye, ns true as th needle to the north stur." "Do you think so?" "Sure I do. Iildn't she ns much ns tell me that here in this room not a week ngo? She loves ye, boy, as true us God loves ye, an' she's u girl of a thousand." "Why did they go awayT Was It because I wus coming?" "I think It likely, my fine lnd. The mnn henrd o' It some way perhaps through yer Bade. He's crazy for the money, but he'll get over that. Leave him to me, I've u fine course o' Instruction In-struction ready for my lord o' Dunkel-berg," Dunkel-berg," "I think I shull go and try to find her," I suld. "I am to counsel ye about that," said the schoolmaster. "She's as keen as n brier the fox ! She says, 'Keep away. Don't alarm hln, or he'll bundle us off to Europe .or two or three years.' "So there's the trail ye travel, my boy. It's the one that keeps awny. Don't let him think ye've anything up the sleeve o' yer mind. Ah, my lnd. I know tho heart o' youth ! Ye'd like to. be puttln' yer arms around her wouldn't ye, now? Sure, there's time enough ! Ye're In the old treadmill o' God the both o' ye! Ye're beln' weighed nn' tried for the great prize. It's not pleasant, but It's better so. Go on, now, nn' do yer best an' whatever what-ever comes take It like a mun." A little silence followed. He broke It with these words: "Ye're done with that business In Coblesklll, an' I'm glad. Ye didn't know ye were beln' tried there did ye? Ye've stood It like a man. What will ye be doln' now?" "I'd like to go to Washington with the eenator." He laughed heartily. "I was hopln' ye'd any that" h went on. "Well, boy, I think It can be arranged. I'll see the senator as soon as ever he comes an' I believe he'll be glad to know o" yer wishes. 1 think he's been hopln'. like, thnt ye would propose It. Go up to the farm and spend a happy month or two with yer aunt an' uncle. It'll do ye good. Ye've been growln' plump down there. (Jo an' melt It off In the fields." A little more tulk and we were off to bed with our cundles. Next morning I went down Into the mnln street of the village before leaving leav-ing for home. I wanted to see how It looked nnd, to be quite frank, I wanted some of the people of Cunton to see how 1 looked, for my clothes were of the best cloth und cut In the latest fashion. Many stopped me and shook my hand men und women who hnd never noticed me before, but there wus a quality In their smiles thnt I didn't quite enjoy. I know now thnt they thought me a little too grand on the outside. What a storn-soulod lot those Yankees were I "All uln't gold that glitters." How often I bud heurd tbut version of the old motto 1 "Why, you look like the senator when he Is Just glttln' homo from the Capital," suld Mr. Jcnlson. They were not yet willing to tuke me ut the par of my uppourunce. I met Betsy Price one of my school-mutes school-mutes on the street. She was very cordial and told me that the Duukel-! Duukel-! bergS had gone to Saratoga. "I got u letter from Sally this morning," morn-ing," Betsy went on. "She suld (hut young Mr. Lutottr was at the same hotel ho-tel and thnt he uud her father were good friends." I wonder If she renlly enjoyed sticking stick-ing this thorn Into my flesh a thorn which made It difficult for me to follow fol-low the udvlee of the schoolmaster and robbed me of the little peace I might have enjoyed. My faith in Sally wuv-ared wuv-ared up mid down until it settled at its wonted level and reassured me. It wus n perfect summer morning and I enjoyed my walk over the fiiinfl-lur fiiinfl-lur road und up into the hill country. The birds seemed to sing a welcome to me. Men und boys I had known waved their huts lu the ha fields und looked ut me. There lire few pleasures pleas-ures In this world like tlmt of a boy getting home after u long uhsence. (TO BK CONTINUBD ) |