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The Seaforth News, 1938-10-13, Page 6PAGE SIX. THE SEAFORTH NEWS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1938 he Little Orphan ilEMOONSIMIM- Then he bade us :good -by, crossed rant .oi the side of Bowman's Hill. the creaking floor and went away in In summer' this (bar of shadow moved like a .clock -'hand on t'he green dial of the pasture, and the help could tell the time by the slant of it. Lone Pine had a mighty girth at the Ib•ottorn, and its bare body tapered into the sky as straight as •an arrow. 'Uncle Elb used to say that its one long, na'ked •branch that swung and creaked near the top of it, dike a sign ,of hospitality on the highway of the •birds, was two hun- dred feet from the ground. There were a few stubs here and there upon its shaft—the roost of crows and owls and hen -hawks. It must have passed for a low resort in the feathered king- dom because it was only the robbers of the sky that halted on Lone Pine. This towering shaft of dead timber commemorated the ancient forest the darkness. "Sing'lar characterl" Uncle muttered. I was getting drowsy and that was the last I heard, In the morning we found a small pail of milk sitting near us, a roasted partridge, two fried fish and some boiled ,potatoes. It was more than enough to carry us through the day with fair allowance far Fred. Uncle Eb was a bit 'better 'but very Larne at that and kept to his bed the greater part of the day. The time went slow with me I remember. Un- cle E'b was not cheerful and told me but one story and that had no life in it. At dusk he let me go out in the road to play awhile with Fred and. the wagon, but came to the door and called us in shortly, I went to bed in through which the northern Yankees a rather unhappy frame of mind. The cut their trails in the beginning of the dog roused me by barking in the mid- dle of the night and I heard again the familiar whisper of the stranger. "Sh-h-I be still, dog," he whisper- ed; .but I was up to my ears in sleep and went under shortly, so I have no knowledge of what passed that night. Uncle Eb tells in his diary that he had a talk with 'him lasting more than an hour, 'but goes no further and nev- er seemed willing to talk much about that interview or others that follow- ed it. I only !know the man had 'brought more milk and fish and fowl for lis. We stayed another day in the old house, that went like the last, and the night man cane again to see 'Uncle Eb. The next morning my companion was able to walk more freely, but Fred and I had to stop and wait for him very often going down the big hill. I was mighty glad when we were leaving the musty old house for good and had the dog hitched with all our traps in the wagon. It was a bright morning and the sunlight glimmered on the dew in the broad valley. The men were just coming from .break- fast when we turned in at David Brower's. A barefooted little girl a bit older than 1, with red cheeks and blue eyes and long curly hair, that shone dike gold in the sunlight, came running out to meet His and led me up to the doorstep, highly amused at the sight of Fred and the wagon. I regarded her with curiosity and sus- picion at first, while Uncle •Eb was talking with the men. I shall never forget that moment that David Brower came and lifted me by the shoulders, high above his head. and shook me as if to test .my mettle, He led me into the house then where his wife was working. "W'hat do you think of this small bit of a .boy?" he asked. She had already knelt on the floor and put her arms about my neck and kissed me. "Ain' not home," said he. "Come . all the way from Vermont with an al' man. They're worn out 'both uv 'em. Guess we'd 'better take 'em in awhile." "0 yes, mother—;please, mother," part in the little girl who was holding my hand, "He can sleep with me, mo- ther. 'Please let him stay." She knelt 'beside .me and put her arms around my little shoulders and drew me to her 'breast and spoke to me very tenderly. "Please flet 'him stay," the girl pleaded again. "David," said the woman, ."3 could- n't turn 'the little thing away, Won"t ye hand methose .cookies." Andso 'our life began in Paradise Valley. Ten minutes later I was .play- ing my first game of "I spy" with little Hope Brower, •among the frag- rant stooks of wheat in the field back of the 'garde'n, CHAPTER. ,VI The lone pine stood in Brower's pasture, 'j'us't Clear of the woods. When the sun rose, one could see its taper shadow` stretching away to the 'foot of Woody Ledge, and at sunset it day like, a fallen mast athwart th•e cow: paths, its long top arm a flying pen•• home more if I 'had been :born in it; Eb century, They were a tall, big fisted, brawny lot of men who came across the Adirondacics from Vermont, and began to break the green canopy that for ages had, covered the valley of the St, Lawrence. Generally they drove a caw with their, and such game as they could kill on the jour- ney supplemented their diet of "pud- ding and milk," Some settled -where the wagon broke or where they had buried a •member of the 'family, and there they cieared the forests that once covered the smooth acres of to- day. 'Gradually the rough surface 'af the trail grew smoother until it be- came 'Paradise road—the well --worn thoroughfare of the stage coach with its "inns and outs," as the the driv- ers used to say—the inns where the "men folks" sat in the firelight of blazing logs after supper and told tales of adventure until bed -time, while the women sat with their knit- ting in the parlor, and the young men wrestled in the stable yard. The men of middle age had stooped and mas- sive shoulders, and deep -furrowed brows. 'Tell one of them he was grow- ing old and he might answer you 'by holding his whip in .front of him and leaping over it between his hands. There was a little clearing around. that big pine tree when David Brow- er settled in the valley. Its shadows shifting in the light of sun and moon. like the arm of a compass. swept the spreading acres of his farm, and he built his house some forty rods from the foot of it on higher ground. Dav- id was the oldest of thirteen children. His .father had died the year 'before he came to St. Lawrence county, leaving 'him nothing but heavy re- sponsibilities. Fortunately, his ,great strength and his kindly nature were equal to the ibinden. Mother and chil- dren were landed safely in their new home on Bowman's Hill the day that David was eighteen. I have heard the old folks of that country tell what a splendid figure of a man he was those days—six feet one in his stockings and broad at the shoulder. His eyes were gray and set tinder 'heavy 'br'ows, I have never forgotten the 'big man that laid hold of me and the broad clean-shaven serious face; that looked into mine the day I 'cause to Paradise Valley. As I write I can see plainly his dimpled chin, 'his 'large nose, his firm mouth that was the 'key to his character. "Open or shet," I have heard the old folks say, "it showed he was :no fool." After two years David ,took a wife and settled in Paradise Valley. lie prospered in a small way considered handsome thereabouts. In a' few years he 'had cleared the rich acres ,of his farm to the sugar .latish that was the mtarth vestibule of the big forest; he had seen the 'clearing 'widen until lis could discern the 'bare summits of the distant hills, and, far as he could see, were the neat white houses of the set- tlers, Children had came, 'three of them—t'he eldest a son Who had left home and died in a far •coun•try long before we came 'to Paradise 'Valley-- t'he youngest a baby, I..could not have enjoyed .my new I had matchneed of a mother's tend- erness, no .doubt, for d remember with what a sense of peace and com- fort I lay on the lap of. Elizabeth Brower, that .first 'evening, and heard her singing as she rocked. Tihe little daughter stood at her knees, looking, down at me and ,patting my bare toes or reaching over to dell ,my face. "God sent him to tis—,di ilt he, mo- ther?" - ther?' sa•id'she, Maybe," Mrs. Brower answered, 'we'll be good to him, anyway." Then that old query carte into any mind. Ik as ed them 'f it was heaven n where we were. • "No," they answered. "Taint any where near here, is it?" I went an. Then they told me about the gate of death, and 'began sowing in me the seed of God's truth—as I know now the seed of many harvests. I slept with (Uncle 'Eb in the garret, that night, and for long after we .came to the Brower's. He continued to get better, and was shortly able to 'give his band to the work of the .farm. There.. was room 'for all of us in that ample wilderness of his imagina- tion, and the ory of the swift woke its ,echoes every evening for a time, Bears and panthers prowled in the deep thickets, 'but the swifts took a firmer grip on us, 'eing bolder and more terrible. Uncle Eb 'became a great favorite of :the family, and Dav- id Brower carate to 'know soon that he was "a good man to moil:'. and could be ,trusted"to look after things." We had not :been there long when T heard Elizabeth speak of Ne- hemiah—her lost son—and 'his name was often on the 'lips of others. He was a boy of sixteen when he went away, and I learned no more of him until' long afterwards. A month or more after we came to Faraway, I remember we went 'cross lots in a big box wagon to the orch- ard on the hill and .gathered apples that fell in .a shower when 'Uncle Eb went up to shake them down. Then came the raw days of date ,October, when the crows went flying south- ward .before the wind—a noisy ,prair- ie 'fleet that filled the sky at times— and when we all put •on our mittens and went down the winding cow paths Jto the grove of butternuts in the pas- ture. The :great roof of the wilderness had turned red and faded into yellow. Soars 'its rafters began to show through, and then, in a clay or two, they were all bare but for some patches of evergreen. 'Great, golden drifts of 'foliage 'lay higher than a inn's head in the timber land about the clearing. We had our best fun then, 'playing "I spy" in the groves, In that 'fragrant .deep of leaves one might lie undiscovered a long time. He could hear roaring like that of water at every move of the .finder, wallowing nearer and nearer 'possib- ly, in his search. Old Fred came gen- erally rooting his way to us in the deep drift with unerring •acouracy. And shortly winter carte out of the north and, of a night, after 'rapping at the windows and howling in the' chim- ney and roaring in the b•ig •woods, took possession of She earth.' That was a time when hard cider flowed freely and recollection found a ready tongue among the .ol•der folk, and the young enjoyed many .diversions, in- cluding measles and whooping cough. ' CHAPTER VII T had a lot of fun that first winter, but none that I can remember more gratefully than our trip in the sled house—a tight :tittle 'house fitted and fastened to a 'big sled. Uncle Eb had to go to the nidi at Hillsborough, some twelve miles away, and Hope and I, after much coaxing and many family counsels, got leave to 'go with him. The sky was cloudless, and 'the frosty air was all aglow in t'he sun- light that morning we started. There was a little sheet iron stove in one corner of the sled 'house, walled in with zinc and anchored with wires; a layer of hay covered the 'floor and ov- er that we spread our .furs and blank- ets. The house had an open front, and Uncle Eh •sat on the doorstep, as it were, to drive, while we sat 'behind him on the !blankets. '"I love you very 'much," said Hope, embracing me, after we were seated. Her affection embarrassed me, I re- member, I't seeme.d unmanly to be petted like a doll. "I hate to be 'kissed," I said, pulling away from 'tier, at which Uncle Eb laughed heartily. The day carne when I would have given hall my life for the words I held so •cheaply •then, "You'd better 'be goodt' me," she answered, "for when mother dies I'm goin' t' take care •o' you, :Uncle Eb and Gran'nta Bisnette an' you an' ev- erybody I love ;is 'goin' t' •come an' live with me in a big, 'big 'house. An' I'm goin' t' put you t' bed nights an' hear ye say . yer .prayers an' every- thing." '"Who'll do the spankin'?" 'Uncle Fib asked. "My husban;" s'he answered, with a sigh at bhe thought of •alt the trou- ble that lay 'before her. "At' I'll make him rub .your 'back, too, 'UmsclehE,b," she added. ueller guess he'll object to that," said he, "Then you oan give 'im five cents,, an' I ,guess 'he'•11'be glad t' do it," s'he answered promptly. "Poor Mani He won't know whe- ther Ire's rumnin' a poorhouse er a hospital, will he?" said Uncle 'Eb. "Look here, children," he added tak- ing out his old leather `wallet, .as he held the reins 'between his knees. ''Here's tew s'hillin' apiece for ye; an' I want ye t' spendit jest eggsackly as ye please." 'The last words were spok- en slowly and with emphasis. We :took the two silver pieces that he handed to us and :looked then all over and compared them. "1 .know what I'll do," said she,. suddenly, "I'm goin' t' buy my anoth- er a new dress, or msbbe •a !beautiful ring," she added thoughtfully. For my own part I did not know what I should buy. I wanted a real gun most of all and my inalina'tian os- cillated 'between that and a 'red rock- ing horse. My mind was very busy while I. sat in silence. Presently T rose and went to ;Uncle'Flb and whis- pered in his ear. "Do ybu think I cool.cl get a real riffle with 'two shi•11•in'?" I inquired an- xiously, "No," he answered in a low tone that seemed to respect my .confidence. "Bimeby, when .you're older, I'll buy ye a rilfle—a real rip snorter, too, with a shiny 'barrel 'n a silver lock. When ye 'get clown t"the village ye'dl see lots o' things y'd ruttier hev, prob'ly. If I was you, children," he added, in a louder 'tone, "I ..wouldn't buy a thing but nuts 'n' raisins." "`Nuts '•u' raisins," Hope exclaimed, scornfully. "Nuts 'n' raisins," he repeated. 'They're cheap 'n' satisfyin'. If ye eat enough uv 'em you'll never want any- thing else in this world." I :failed to see the irony in Uncle Eb's remark and t'he suggestion seem- ed to have a good deal of merit, the more I thought it over. i"T any rate," said Uncle Eh, "'I'd .git somethin' ler my Own selves." "is10ll," said Hope, "You tell us a lot o' things we could buy." "Less seel" said Uncle •Eb, looking very serious, "There's 'bootjaCks an' there's wa•rmin' 'pall 'n' mustard .plast- ers 'n' liver pads 'n' all them 'kind o' things." 'We both shook our beads •d•oubt- fuldy. "Then" he added, "there are jim- ntyjaoks 'n' silver no nuthin's." There were many •other suggestions' but none of them were decisive. The snow lay 'deep on either side of the way and there was a :glimmer on every white (hillside where Jack Frost had sown his diamonds. Here and there a fox track crossed the smooth level of the valley and dwind- led on the distant 'hills like a seam in a great white robe. Lt grew warmer as the sun rose, and we were a jolly company behind the merry jingle of the sleigh 'bells. We had had a long spell of quiet weather and the road lay in two furrows worn as smooth as ice at the 'bottom. "Consarn it!" said 'Uncle 'Eb, look- ing ,up at the sky, after we had been on the road an 'hour or so. "There's a sun dog. Wouldn't wonder if we got a snowstorm 'fore night" I was running behind the sled and standing on the brake hooks going down shill. He made me get in when he saw the sun dog, and let our horse —a rat -tailed .bay known as Old Doc- tor—go at a merry pace. We were awed to silence when we came in sight of Hillsborough, with spires looming far into the sky, as it seemed to me then, and buildings that 'bullied me with their big (bulk, so that 1 had no heart for spending of tate two shillings Uncle Eb (had .given me. Such :sublimity of :proportion I have never seen since; and yet it was all very small indeed. 'The stores had a smell about thein that was dike chlorop'horm in its effect upon me; for, once in them, I fell into a kind of trance and had scarce sense en- ough to know my own mind. The smart clerks,• who generally came and asked, "Well, young man, what can I do for you?" 1 regarded with fear and suspioion. I clung the tighter to my coin always, .and said nothing, al- though I saw many a trinket whose glitter went to my somal with a mighty fascination. We both stood staring si- lently at the show cases, our tongues helpless with awe and wonder, Final- ly, after a whispered :conference, Hope .asked for e "silver no nothing," and provoked so much laughter that we .both Ificd to the side walk. Uncle E'b lsad 'to •do our 'buying for us in the end. "Wall, w'h.at'•ll ye liev?" be said to me at length. I tried to think—it was no easy thing to do after all 3 had seen. "Guess 111 take e jacknife," I whis- pered. "'"Give this 'boy a knife," he demand- ed. "Wants t' be goo 'n ,sharp. ,Might hev t' skin a swift with it some .time. "What ye want?" he asked, then turning to Hope. A doll," she' whispered. "White or black?" said he. 'White," said. she, "with dark eyes and hair." "Want a real, splendid, dm's' -class dols," he said to the clerk, "Thet do, there, with the sky blue dress 'n the .prole apron.". We were worn 'out with excitement when we left for •home under lower- ing 'skies. We children lay side by side under ,the robes, the doll 'between us, and .were soon asleep. It, was growing dark when lU,nele Eb woke s and the snowwas 'driving in at u, a g r h air doorway. The was full f o snow, I remember, and .Old Doctor was .wading to 'his lcnees in a drift. 'We were up in the hills and the '.wind whistled in our 'little chimney. Uncle E'b 'had a serious look in his face. The snow grew deeper and Old Doctor went slower every moment. "Six miles from home," 'Uncle Eb unuttered, es lts held 'up to rest a mo- ment. 5Six mile from home 'Fraid we're in fer a night uv it." We got to the top of Fadden's Hill about •dark, and the snow lay so deep in the cut we all got out for fear the house would tip over. 'Old Doctor ll•otnrdered along a bit'further until he went down in, the drift and lay be tween the shafts 'h'alf buried. We had a shovel that always 'hung 'bes'ide a small hatchet in the sled' 'house—for one 'might need marsh beside the grace of God of a winter's day in that coun- try—and with it Uncle lEb began to 'Uncover the 'horse. We 'children stood in the sled 'house door watching him and holding the lantern. Old Doctor was on his feet in a few minutes, "'Taint' no use tryin'," said !Uncle Eb, as he 'began to unhitch. "Can't go no further t' -night." Then he dug away the snow beside the sled house, and hitched 'Old Doc- tor to the horseshoe that w'as nailed to the rear end of it. That done, he clambered 'up the side of the cut and took some rails off the .fence and shoved them over on the roof of the house, so that one end rested there and the other on the high 'bank 'be- side us. 'Then he cut a dot of hemlock he had made over Old Doctor, ,bind- ing theist with the reins. Bringing more rails, he leaned them to the oth- ers on the windward side and nailed a big blanket over them, piecing it out with hemlock thatching, so 'it made a fairly comfortable shelter. We were under the wind in this deep out on Fadden's Hill, and the snow piled in upon us rapidly. We had a warns blanket for Old Doctor and two big .:buffalo .robes (for .our own use. We ;gave him a goad feed of 'hay and oats, and 'then Uncle Eb cut up a fence rail with our hatchet and built a roar- ing fire in the stove. We had got a 'bit chilly .wading in the snow, and the fire gave us a mighty sense of conn - fort. "I thought somethin' might hap- pen," said Uncle E'b, as he hung his lantern to the ridge' pole and took a big paper parcel out of his great coat pocket. "I thought mebbe somethin' might happen, an' so I .brought along a 'bite o' luncheon," He gave us dried herring and bread and butter and cheese. "'S a little dry," he remarked, while we were' eating, "but it's dryer w here there's none." We .had a pail of snow on tap of the little store and plenty of good 'drinkin'g water for ourselves and the 'Old Doctor. in a few minutes. After supper Uncle Eb went up the side of the cut and brought 'back a lot of hemlock boughs and spread them under Old Doctor for bedding. Then we all sat around the stove on the warm robes and listened to the wind howling above our little roof and the stories of Uncle •Ebb. The hissing of the snow as it beat upon the sled house grew fainter by and by, and Uncle Eb said he guessed we were pretty well covered up. We fell asleep soon. I remember he stopped in the middle of a wolf story, and, seeing that our eyes were strut, pulled us back from the !fire a little and covered us with one of the robes. It had been a mighty struggle between Sleep and Romance, and Sleep had won. 'I rous- ed myself and begged him to go on with the story, ibut he only said, "H'us'h, 'boy; it's (bedtime," and turn- ed 'up the lantern and .went out of doors. I woke once o'r twice •in the night and saw him putting wood on the fire. He 'had put out the light. The gleam of the fire shone on his face when the ,opened the stove .door. 5"Gittin' a lectle cool here, Uncle 'lib," he was saying to himself. (To be continued.) "'There are many ' old unprofitable pastures to be seen 'in the countryside, heavily infested .with 'weeds—golden- rod, 'Canadian thistle, wild carrot, etc." says Dr. O. McConkey of the Ontario Agricultural College, and he continues:"These can 'be 'improved 200 to 3001% by I(it :fall .plowing, 1(2) cropping for om'e or two years to :clean off weeds, t(0) raising the soil 'fertili- ty level, 104) seeding to a well 'balan- ced pasture .mixture of legumes and grasses. PROFESSIONAL CARDS Medical SEAFORTH CLINIC Dr. E. A. McMaster,, M.B., Gradu- ate of University • of Toronto. J. D. Coiquhoun, M.D., C.M., 'Grad- uate of 'Dalhousie University, Halifax. The Clinic is fully equipped with complete and modern x-ray and other up -Ito -date diagnostic and th•ereuptic equipment. Dr. Margaret K. 'Cam'pbell, M.D., LA,B.P., Specialist in Diseases in Infants and Children, a e , will be at the 'Clinic last Thursday in every month: from 31 t6'6 p.m. Dr. F. J. R. Forster, Specialist in Diseases of the Ear, Eye, Nose and Throat, will be at the Clinic the first Tuesday in every month from 4 to 6 pan. Free well -baby clinic will be held. on the second and last Thursday in every month from 1 to 2 p.m. MAW W. C. S'PROAT, M.D., F.A.C.S. Surgery Phone 90-W. Office John. St., Seaforth DR. H. HUGH ROSS, Physician and Surgeon Late •of Landon Hos- pital, London, England. Special at- tention to diseases of the ey.e, ear, nose and throat. Office and residence behind Dominion Bank. Office Phone No. 5; Residence Phone 104. DR. F. J. BURROWS, ,Office Main St, Seaforth, over Dominion Bank. Hours 2-15 and 7 to 8 p.m. and by ap- pointment. Residence, 'Goderich St., two doors west of 'United Church, Phone 416, DR, F. J. R. FO.RST'ER— Eye Ear, Nose and Throat. Graduate in Medicine, University of Toronto 116997. Late Assistant New York Ophthal- mic and Aural Institute, Moorefield's Eye, and 'Golden Square throat hospi- • tats, Landon. At. Commercial 'Hotel, Seaforth, third Wednesday in each month from 1.30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Auctioneer. GEORGE ELLIOTT, Licensed Auctioneer for the County of Huron. Arrangements can be 'made for Sale Date at The Seaforth News. Charges mbderate and satisfaction guaranteed F. W. AHR'ENS, Licensed Aucitiot eer for Perth and Huron Counties, Sales Solicited. Terrns on Application. Farm Stock, chattels and real estate property, R. R. No. 4, Mitchell. Phone 634 r 6. Apply at this office. WATSON & REID REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE AGENCY (Successors to James Watson) MAIN ST., SEAFORTH, ONT. All kinds of Insurance risks effect- ed at lowest rates in 'First -Class Companies. THE McKILLOP Mutual Fire Insurance C HEAD OFFICE—SEAFORTH, Ont. OFIFICERS President, Thomas Moylan, Sea - forth; Vice President, William Knox, Londesboro; Secretary Treasurer, M , A. Reid, Seaforth. AGENTS F. McKercher, R.R.Il, Dublin; John E. Pepper, R.R.1, Brucefield; E. R. G. Jarmouth, Brodhagen; James Watt, Blyth; C. F. Hewitt, Kincardine; Wm. Yeo, Holmesville. DIRECTOR'S Alex.' Broadfoot, Seaforth No, 3; James S'holdice, Walton; Wm. Knox, Londesboro; George Leonhardt, Bornholm No. 1; Frank 'McGregor, Clinton No. 5; James Connolly, God- erich; Alex MdEwing, Blyth No. 1; Thomas Moylan, Seaforth No. 5; Wm. R. Archibald, Sealfarth No. 4. Parties desirous to effect insurance or transact other business, will be promptly attended to 'by applications to any of the above named officers addressed to their respective post - offices. Dry Bean Crop Harvesting of dry beans has made good+progress in Western (Ontario. In Scent 'county the yieldis variable with fields which .escaped excessive mois- ture fairly good. 'In Middlesex and Huron counties prospects are consid- ered average. For the province as a whole the yield is now forecast 'at d17.8 'bushels per acre as compared with 119.0 (bushels last year. The out- look is good for a normal crop of corn for husking, although in some parts of Kent county some .damage was caused by stories,