Show sl xi tj il A TALE of me N C 4 by IRVING B BARTON PASSES THROUGH PERILS WHICH RECALL THE PROPHECY OF ROVIN KATE synopsis barton baynes tin nn orphan goes reas to live with ills uncle peabody baynes and hla his aunt deel on oil a n farm farin on oil in it neighborhood called about the year 1820 1826 ile ho meets stilly sally dunkelberg about ills his orvii own age ar but socially of 0 a class above the Baynes cs and Is fascinated by lier ter pretty face and fine clothes barton also meets roving kate known in the neighborhood a as tile the silent woman amos grimshaw grim shaw n young son BOH of the richest man in the township ship Is a visitor tit nt the lie baynes home and having kate tells tho the boys fortunes predicting a bright future for barton tint and death on tho the gallows for amos barton ineeta silas wright jr a antin prominent in public affairs who evinces much interest lit in the hoy boy barton learns learn s of tile power of money when mr grimshaw threatens to take the baynes farm unless a note which lie he holds Is paid IL CHAPTER VI continued 7 one day in december of that year I 1 lind had my first trial lit in the full responsibility lity of mans work I 1 was allowed to load and burness and hitch up and go to the lie duill without assistance my uncle and our hired man were busy with the chopping and we were out of lour flour and lacal ineal it took a lot of t them hent to keep the axes going so I 1 filled two sacks with corn and two with wheat and put them into the box wagon for tho the ground was bare and hitched up my horses and set out I 1 readied reached the mill safely and before the grain was ground tho the earth and the sky bly above were white with snow driving down in a cold stiff wind ind out of the northwest I 1 loaded my griets and covered them with a blanket ani and hurried away tile the snow came su so fast that it almost blinded me there were times when I 1 could scarcely see eco the road or the horses the wind came colder and soon it was hard work to hold the reins and keep ray my hands from freezing suddenly the wheels began jumping over rocks the horses were in the ditch I 1 knew what was tile the matter for my illy eyes had been filling with snow and I 1 had had to brush them often of course the team had suffered in a like manner defore before I 1 could stop I 1 I 1 leard card tile the ernek crock of a folly felly and a front dropped to itri ite huh hub I 1 checked the her horses so an anil jumped out nul awl vent to their heads and cleared their bejes ejes the snow was up to my kneed then ilow how the thought of that broken ft wheel heel smote mot met it was our only heavy wagon and we having to pay the mortgage mort gegel 1 what would my uncle gay any the query brought brou glit to tears ars to my eyes I 1 unhitched tind and led my horses up into the cover of the pines ilow how grateful it seemed for the wind was slack black below but lowling in the treetops I 1 I 1 knew I 1 that lint I 1 was four miles from home hom e and knew riot not liow how I 1 was to get there cl allied to the bone I 1 gi gathered so some me pi pitch cli pine and soon had a ore going wit fi my lint flint and tinder I 1 knew that I 1 could mount one of the horses ona and lend lead the other and reach home aroh pro ably but there was the grist ito ac needed that I 1 knew that we should have to go hungry without the grist artst it would get wet from above and below if I 1 tried to carry it on tile the back of a horse I 1 wormed warmed myself by tile tho ire fire and hitched my team near it so as to thaw the frost out of their forelocks fore locks and eyebrows I 1 felt in my cont coat pockets and found a handful of nalls nalla everybody carried nails in oho pocket in those days and I 1 remember that my uncles pockets were a museum of bolts bolta and nuts and screws and wash ers the idea occurred to tile me that I 1 would maize n kind of sled which was called it jumper so I 1 got my ax out of the wagon ond soon goon found a couple of small trees with the alie right crook for the forward end of it a runner and cut them and he wed their bottoms as smoothly as I 1 could then I 1 made notches in went them near the top of their crooks and fitted a n stout stick into tile notches and se cured auml it with nails driven by the thus I 1 got a hold tor for my evener that done I 1 chopped and hewed an arch to cross the middle ot of the runners and told hold them apart and macd alt all my nails to secure and bruce brine it I 1 got the two boards which were fastened together and constituted my wagon seat scat and laid them over the arch nil and front brace ilow how to make them fast was my worst problem I 1 succeeded in splitting a green stick balck to hold the bolt of the evener just unter its head while I 1 heated its lower end in the fire and kept its licad head cool coal with snow witti with this I 1 burnt a liole hole lit in the end of each loard board and fastened I 1 them to the front brace with withes of wood it was late in tho the day and there was no time for the alie slow process of burning more dioro holes so I 1 notched the other oilier ends of the boards and lashed them to the rear irac bocc with a length of my illy reins then I 1 toy my bolt and up tile the grist and chain and fastened tile the latter between tile tho boards in tho the middle of tho the front brace hitched my team to tho the chain pad and set bet out again sitting on tho the bags it was pitch dark and the horses wading to follies l and the snow faster when we turned into soon I 1 heard a loud loud halloo and knew that it was the alie voice of undo uncle peabody lie ile lind had started out to meet me ino in tho the storm and shop was with him thank god ive found ye yd I 1 lie ile shouted im blind and tired out and I 1 keep a lantern eola to save me inc aro are ye froze im till all right but these horses are awful tired blad to let em cm rest e every v cry few minutes I 1 told him about nebout the wagon and how it rell relieved eved tile ino to hear him say As long is as youre all right boy I 1 aint coln to worry bout uc the ol 01 wagon not a bit yo ye alt yer juniper jumper made it with tho the ax and somo some n nails ally 4 1 I answered after wo we got to the barn door at last he wort went to tho the house and lighted lit his lantern and came back with it wr wrapped a aped lit in a blanket and aunt deol deel camo came with him how proud it made me ino to hear him say eay ideel deel our boy Is a man now ninde made tills this juniper all lone aone by himself nil an his has got through all right site she carue came and held the lantern up to my face and looked at my hands well my stars hartl bartt she exclaimed in u n moment 1 I thought yo ye would freeze up solid soli dayes ayes poor boy I 1 we carried the grist in and aunt deel mode made some ome pudding how good it was to feel tho the warmth of the ore fire and of the hearts of those who loved met me I 1 how flow I 1 enjoyed the pudding and milk and broad bread and butter 1 1 I guess youve gone through tile second peril that ol 01 kate spoke of sat said aunt deel as I 1 went upstairs uncle peabody went out to look at the horses when I 1 awoke in the morning I 1 oh served that undo uncle peabodys ys bed had not been slept in I 1 hurried down and heard that out oui oft horse tin had died in the night of colic aunt deel was crying As he saw me uncle peabody began to dance a jig in tho the middle of the floor balance yer partners I 1 he shouted you tin an r aint boint to be discouraged if all the bosses die be we dart never I 1 answered the talk I 1 if well hitch purvis up with vother hosa boss an all git our haul haulon in done lie ile and purvis roared with laughter and the strength of tho current swept me along with them were the luckiest folks in the world anyway uncle peabody Io went on barts alive an theres three feet 0 snow on air the level tin an more colln tin nn its col caldern dern greenland it wis such a bitter day that wo we worked only three hours and camo came back to the house and played old sledge by the fireside burnes barnes came over that afternoon and said that lie he would lent lend us n horse for the hauling we had good sleighing after that and got our bark and salts to market and earned 98 but while willi eIve we got our pay in paper bank money we had to pay our debts in salts baits or corn so that our earnings really amounted to only my uncle sold we gave the balance and ten bushels of wheat to mr Or linshaw for a spavined horse after which ho agreed to glio give us at least a years extension on the principal we felt easy then CHAPTER VII my third peril sir purvis took ills pay lit in stilts salts and stayed wit alti us until my first great brent adventure cut him ort oft it come ono one july day when I 1 was in my sixteenth year lie ile behaved hadly badly and 1 I as tiny any normal boy would have done who had find had my schooling lit in the candle light we bad kept Or linshaw from our door hy by paying interest and the sum BUIU of SO 80 on tho principal it lind been hard live comfortably and curry carry the burden of debt again grimshaw had begun to press us my uncle wanted to get ills fils paper and learn if possible when the senator was expected in canton so ho he gave mo ino permission to ride with purvis to the post a distance of three blies boget to get the mall mail purvis rodo rode in our only saddle and I 1 ba badback baeb eback ocL on it a handsome white filly which my undo uncle hail given elvea we me soon 4 11 ar 4 ft p rip my sile k it the posture JL ill 7 because that was 0 seemed to in PurvIs was not t rider my ully filly led clr nt a swift lop over the hills nuil nial I 1 hearer many R in uttered complaint behind me ino but she liked a free head bead whon when we took ithe hie road together and ilet I 1 let her have her way Con coming illig back wo vo fell tn in with mother another rider rho hail had been resting nt at little tavern through the heat beat of tile tho day lie ile was a traveler on ills his way to canton and had missed the right trall and wandered far afield ile iio hod a big military saddle with bags and bliley at alny brass trimmings and n pistol lit in a holster nil all ot of which appealed to my eye and interest the alic filly was a little tired tire and tho the stranger and 1 I were riding rids abren abreast s t nt at a walk while purvis trailed behind us wo heard a quick stir la in the bushes bythe by the roadside that purvis demanded n half balf whisper of excitement wo lye stopped then promptly a voiced a voice which I 1 did not recognize broke the silence with cheso allese menacing words sharply spoken your money or your life iffet I 1 mr purvis whirled ills his horse and slashed him up the hill glancing backward I 1 saw him lose a stirrup and full fall and pick himself up and run na as it if his life depended on it I 1 saw the stranger draw ills his pistol A gun vent 0 on it in the edge of the bushes close by tile flash of fire from its muzzle looped leaped nt at the stranger the horses reared and plunged and mine throw me in a clump of small poppies by the roadside and dashed down tile the hill my bly fall on the stony siding aiding had me and I 1 lay icy for three or four seconds as nearly as I 1 can estimate it in it strange and peaceful dream why lid did I 1 dream of amos grimshaw cornn I 1 I 1 ra it if pt V A gun went off 0 lit in the edge of the bushes close by ing to visit me again and why above nil all should it 11 have seemed to me ine that e enough things said and done in that hat little flash of a dream to fill a whole day enough of talk and play and going and coming the whole ending ath n R talk on the haymow again and aln I 1 have wondered about that dream I 1 came to and lifted my head bond and my consciousness swung back upon the track of memory and took up tip tho the thread of tho the day dar the briefest remove from where it hod broken I 1 peered through the bushes the light was unchanged I 1 could see quite clearly the horses were gone it was very still tile the stranger lay helpless in tile the road and a figure was bendin bending gover kilin him it was a man with will a handkerchief banning hang lily over ills his face with holes cut opposite his eyes jia had not seen my fall and tho t ns as I 1 learned later that I 1 had find ridden away ills ilia gun lay beside him its toward me I 1 observed that a piece of wood hod been split off the lonc r side of tile stock I 1 jull jumped ped to my iny feet fec and seized a stone ston e to hurt hurl tit at him at As I 1 adso dd so the robber alei gun in gaind if the gun lind had boon been loaded I 1 suppose that tills this little history would n never eve r I 1 have i av e been written quickly I 1 hurled the stone at the robber I 1 remember it was n smallish stone about tile the size of a hens egg 1 I saw it graze the side aide of ills hla ilea head I 1 saw ills his hand touch tho the place which tho the stone had grazed ile he reeled and bearly fell and recovered himself and ran on but the little stone had put the mark of coln cain upon him the stranger lay iny still in th tho road I 1 lifted his liend lend and dropped it qulon ly with a strong strange sickness the feel of it und tint tho the ray lt it tell fell back upon tho the ground when I 1 let go soared scared me ter or I 1 knew that he I 1 ana VA s dead the dust around him was wet I 1 ran down the I 1 just L ay iii can A M an what a feard lind spoken I 1 AV ante th little eman sped tint jerked the reins a d shou 6 d to his horses an d began swei tiring the woman atte uttered red a little scream and the children ran crying to her tilde elde tile the physical ph steal facts which aro are furt further fier related to this tragedy aro are of little 1 moment to me now the stranger was waa lead and we took lils hla body to our home and my uncle set act out for the constable f over end and over again eliat night I 1 told tile the story tit of the shooting we we went tit io i the scene of the tragedy with lanterns and fenced itt it off and put some men on guard there lit in tile tho morning they found the robbers footprints in alie damp dirt of J h tho the road and measured them the 3 whole hole countryside was afire with ex and searching scorching tile woods and fields for tho the highwayman the stranger was hurled buried there was nothing upon him to indicate his name or residence weeks passed with no i news of the man who had slain him I 1 had told of the gun with a piece of IV wood broken out of its stock but no one knew of any such weapon lo in or near one day unee unco peabody and I 1 drove up to GrIms baws to anko a payment 0 of f money I 1 remember it was gold and silver which we curried carried in a little suck sack I 1 asked where amos was anil and fi mrs mr grimshaw a timid tired looking bony little woman who was never seen been outside outs itle ot of her own onn houst sald said that S lie was working out on the farm of a sir mr beekman near plattsburg Platts burg ile he hail had gone over or on the stage late into in june jude to hire out for the haying I 1 observed that my uncle looked very thoughtful as we rode back home and lind had little to say you never had find any idee who that robber was did ye ho be asked by and by no I 1 could not see plain it was so dusk I 1 said the swift words your money or your life came out of my memory and rang in it I 1 felt its lt likeness to the scolding demands of mr orlin show who was forever saying in cf fecat i your money or your hornet home I 1 that was like demanding our lives because we live without our home our nil was in it mr orlin 4 y 1 shaws gun was tile tho power power lio 1 hail anil over ever 1 us its and what it terrible weapon it was insl I 1 I 1 credit him with never realta M ing how terrible we came to tho the sandhills sand hills bills and then uncle peabody broke tho silence by saying 1 1 I give fifty cents for no na nuch |