Frank R. Stockton

“ Harry was thinking, and Kate was wondering what he was thinking about. She thought she knew, and she called out to him: "I expect old Mr. Matthews would lend you a gun, Harry."
"Yes, I suppose he would," said Harry, turning and slowly walking up toward the house; "but father told me not to borrow a gun from Truly Matthews. It's a shame, though, to stay here when the fields are just chock full of partridges. I never knew them so plenty in all my life. It's just the way things go."
"It is a pity about your gun," said Kate. "There's some one at the gate, Harry. ”

“ Negroes shouting, chains rattling, snow flying back from sixteen pounding hoofs, sled cutting through the snow like a ship at sea, and a little darkey shooting out behind at every bounce over a rough place!
"Hurrah!" cried Harry, holding tight to an upright pole. "Isn't this splendid!"
"Splendid! It's glorious!" shouted Tom. "It's better than being a pi—" And down he went on his knees, as the big sled banged over a stone in the road, and Josephine's Bobby was bounced out into a snow-drift under a fence. ”

“ There's no way but to get a boat."
"I don't know where you're going to find one," said Harvey. "There's a boat up at the mill-pond, but you couldn't get it out and down here in much less than a day."
"John Walker has his boat afloat again," said Harry, "but that's over on the other side. What a nuisance it is that there isn't anybody over there! If we didn't want 'em, there'd be about sixty or seventy darkies hanging about now."
"Oh, no!" said Harvey, "not so many as that; not over forty-seven."
"I'm going over to Lewston's. Perhaps he knows of a boat," said Harry; and away he ran. ”

“ Harry and Kate ran out into the road and cheered and shouted. Away went the man, and away went the dog.
Up the road, into the brush, out again, and then into a field, down a hill, nip and tuck! At Tom Riley's fence, Rob got him by the leg, but the trowsers were old and the piece came out: and then the man dashed into Riley's old tobacco barn, and slammed the door almost on the dog's nose. ”

“ Cousin Maria was outraged.
"George Mason!" said she, "you can stay here as long as you like, and you can have part of whatever I've got in the house to eat, but I'll never sit down to the table with you till you've mended that wire and nailed it to another pole."
"All right," answered George Mason. "Then I'll eat alone."
When Mr. Martin and the mica-mine people and the Akeville people and Harry and Kate and all the boys and everybody black and white heard what had happened, there was great excitement. It was generally agreed that something must be done with George Mason. ”

“ There was a good deal more intelligence, it appeared, but it wasn't easy to make it out, for Harry was asking fifty questions, and Kate was calling out from one of the windows, and Dick Ford and half-a-dozen other negro boys were running up and shouting to each other that the things had come. Mr. Loudon came out to see what all the excitement was about, and he had to be told everything by Tom and Harry, both at once; and Rob and Blinks were barking, and there was hubbub enough. ”

“ Lyons will keep a tally of all the messages sent, and I don't believe that he would cheat us."
"No; I don't suppose he would," said Tom; "but I liked the old way best. There was more fun in it."
"Yes, there was," said Kate; "and then we helped old Lewston and Aunt Judy. I expect they'll miss the money they got for rent."
"Certainly," said Harry. "They'll have to deny themselves many a luxury in consequence of the loss of that dollar a month."
"Now you're making fun," said Kate; "but twelve dollars a year is a good deal to those poor people." ”

“ On the following Wednesday there was a half-holiday, and Harry was about to start off with his gun, when he proposed that Kate should go with him.
"But you're going after birds," said Kate, "and I can't go where you'll want to go—among the stubble and bushes."
"Oh! I sha'n't go much after birds," said Harry. "I wanted to borrow Captain Caseby's dog, but he's going to use him himself to-day, and so I don't expect to get much game. But we can have a good walk in the woods." ”

“ CHAPTER XXIX Once more in the Woods.
"Harry," said Kate, the next day after this meeting, "when are you going to get your gun back?"
"Get my gun back!" exclaimed Harry. "How am I to do that?"
"Why, there's money enough," answered Kate. "You only lent your gun-money to Aunt Matilda's fund. Take out enough, and get your gun back."
"That sounds very well," said Harry; "but we haven't so much money, after all. The interest on what we have won't begin to support Aunt Matilda, and we really ought not to break in on the principal." ”

“ About a week after the meeting of the Board in the Davis corn-house, old Miles, the mail-rider, came galloping up to Mr. Loudon's front gate. The family were at breakfast, but Harry and Kate jumped up and ran to the door, when they saw Miles coming, with his saddle-bags flapping behind him. No one had ever before seen Miles ride so fast. A slow trot, or rather a steady waddle, was the pace that he generally preferred. ”

“ It seems to me that whatever we do seems all right at first, and then fizzles out. This telegraph business has done that, straight along."
"No, it hasn't," said Kate, with some warmth. "It's turned out first-rate. I think that interest idea is all stuff. As if we wanted to set up Aunt Matilda with an income that would last forever! Here comes father. I'm going to ask him about the gun."
When Mr. Loudon had had the matter laid before him, he expressed his opinion without any hesitation.
"I think, Harry," said he, "that you certainly ought to go and get your gun." ”

“ Ef ye give me anything, give me a good big fiery Chrismis tree like you all had, year 'fore las'."
Two years before, Harry and Kate had had their last Christmas tree. There were no younger children, and these two were now considered to have outgrown that method of celebrating Christmas. But they had missed their tree last year—missed it very much.
And now Aunt Matilda wanted one. It was the very thing!
"Hurrah!" cried Harry; "you shall have it. Hurrah for Aunt Matilda's Christmas tree!"
"Hurrah!" cried Kate; "won't it be splendid? Hurrah!" ”

“ Everybody now began to talk at once. Harry's father was so delighted to find his boy again, that he did not care to explain anything, and he and Harry walked off together.
But Captain Caseby told Tony all about it. How he, Mr. Loudon, and old Mr. Wagner, had set out to look for Harry; how Mr. Wagner soon became so tired that he had to give up, and go home, and how Mr. Loudon had gone through the woods to the north, while he kept down by the creek, searching on both sides of the stream, and how they had both walked, and walked, and walked all night, and had met at last down by the river. ”

“ Loudon lent one horse, old Selim, a big brown fellow, who was very good at pulling when he felt in the humor. Tom could bring no horse; for his father did not care to lend his horses for such a purpose. He was afraid they might get their legs broken; and, strange as it seemed to the boys, most of the neighbors appeared to have similar notions. Horses were very hard to borrow that Friday afternoon. But a negro man, named Isaac Waddell, agreed to hire them his horse Hector, for fifty cents for the day; and the storekeeper, after much persuasion, lent a big gray mule, Grits by name. ”

“ Kate had no fears for Harry. She had unbounded faith in his good sense and his bravery, if he should happen to get into danger.
The fact is, she was quite a brave girl herself; and brave people are very apt to think their friends as courageous as themselves.
When Harry and Uncle Braddock reached the village they found several of the older inhabitants on the store porch, and they met with an enthusiastic reception. ”

“ When Harry and Kate held council that afternoon, their affairs looked a little discouraging. Kate's sumac was weighed, and it was only seven pounds! Seven whole cents, if they took it out in trade, or five and a quarter cents, as Kate calculated, if they took cash. A woman as large as Aunt Matilda could not be supported on that kind of an income, it was plain enough. ”

“ Tony Kirk had Captain Caseby's mud-colored horse. I don't know what the captain will do without him."
"Oh, the captain will do very well," said Harry.
"But he can't do very well," persisted Kate. "It's the only horse he has in the world. One thing certain, they can't go to church." ”

“ I didn't think we'd do so well when we started."
"No, it didn't look like it," said George; "but those mica men mayn't find it such a good bargain for them."
"Why?" asked Harry. [Pg 255]
"Well, suppose some of the people who own the land that the line's on, don't want these strangers to have a telegraph on their farms. What's to hinder them ordering them off?"
"They wouldn't do that," said Harry. "None of the people about here would be so mean. They'd know that it might upset our bargain. There isn't a man who would do it." ”

“ Matthews, Harry. He has a lot of little pigs that he wants to sell. Just you go and buy one of them, and see if he isn't as good-natured as ever, when he sees your money."
Harry took the advice. He had a couple of dollars, and with them he bought a little pig, the smallest of the lot; and Mr. Matthews, who was very much afraid he could not find purchasers for all his pigs, was as completely pacified as Kate thought he would be. ”

“ Every week it cost more and more to keep the old colored woman in what Harry called "eating material."
"Her appetite must be increasing," said Harry; "she's eaten two pecks of meal this week."
"I don't believe it," said Kate; "she couldn't do it. I believe she has company."
And this turned out to be true.
On inquiry they found that Uncle Braddock was in the habit of taking his meals with Aunt Matilda, sometimes three times a day. Now, Uncle Braddock had a home of his own, where he could get his meals if he chose to go after them, and Harry remonstrated with him on his conduct. ”

“ Kate ran eagerly out to question these people. They must certainly have seen Harry.
The good-natured negroes readily stopped [Pg 37] to talk with Kate. The ox-driver halted his team, and every head-burdened man, woman, and child clustered around her, until it seemed as if sumac clouds had spread between her and the sky, and had obscured the sun.
But no one had seen Harry. In fact, this company, with the accumulated proceeds of a week's sumac gathering, had come from a portion of the county many miles from Crooked Creek, and of course, they could bring no news to Kate. ”

“ Tony did not seem to notice his vexation, but talked to him, explaining the mysteries of turkey-hunting and the [Pg 46] delight of spending a night in the woods, where everything was so cool and dry and still. "There's no nonsense here," said Tony. "Ef there's any place where a feller kin have peace and comfert, it's in the woods, at night."
By degrees Harry became interested and forgot his annoyance. Kate was certainly safe at home, and as it was impossible for him to find his way out of the depths of the woods, he might as well be content. ”

“ After Harry had been home an hour or two, and Kate had somewhat recovered from her [Pg 57] transports of joy, and everybody in the village had heard all about everything that had happened, and Captain Caseby had declared, in the bosom of his family, that he would never go out into the woods again at night without keeping up a steady "holler," Harry remembered that he had left his sumac-bag somewhere in the woods. Hard work for a whole day and a night, and nothing to show for it! Rather a poor prospect for Aunt Matilda. ”

“ It is to be supposed that no one ever bought their tobacco, for they never paid up.
The proceeds of the five days of telegraphing, together with the money obtained by the sale of Harry's gun, were spent by Kate for Aunt Matilda's benefit; and as she knew that it might be a good while before there would be any more money coming, Kate was as economical as she could be. ”

“ When I was a very little fellow, I remember that you were very old—at least, sixty or seventy."
"Well, then, I 'spects I'se about ninety," said Aunt Matilda.
"But you can't be ninety!" said Kate. "The Bible says that seventy years is the common length of a person's life."
"Them was Jews," said Aunt Matilda. "It didn't mean no cull'd people. Cull'd people live longer than that. But p'raps a cull'd Jew wouldn't live very long."
"Well," said Harry, "it makes no difference how old you are. We're going to take care of you for the rest of your life."
Kate was again busy with her paper. ”

“ Loudon. "If the boys are careful to disconnect the instruments and the wires when they leave the cabins, there is no more danger than there would be in a brass clock. But if they leave the wires attached to the instruments, lightning might be attracted into the cabins [Pg 166] during a thunder-storm, and Aunt Judy might find the 'merchines' quite as dangerous as a horse-pistol."
"But they mustn't leave the wires that way," said Kate. "I sha'n't let Harry forget it. Why, it would be awful to have Aunt Judy and poor old Lewston banged out of their beds in the middle of the night." ”