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Jonas stopping at the house of Mr. Edwards. — Page 63.
JONAS
on 2 FAS
WINTER.
BY THE
AUTHOR OF THE ROLLO BOOKS,
BOSTON:
TICKNOR, REED, AND FIELDS.
M DCCC LI.
© ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1841, oY
BNTERED ACCORDING T
RK’S OFFICE UF THE DISTRICT couR?
T. H. CARTER, IN THE CLE
OF MASSACHUSETTS
STEREOTYPED AT THE
BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPR FOUNDRY.
PREFACE.
Tus little work, with its companion,
Jonas oN A Farm IN SumMER, is in-
tended as the continuation of a series,
the first two volumes of which, Jonas’s
Stories and.Jonas a JupGE, have al-
ready been published. They are all de-
signed, not merely to interest and amuse
the juvenile reader, but to give him in-
struction, by exemplifying the principles
of honest integrity, and plain practical
good sense, in their application to the
ordinary circumstances of childhood.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1. Page.
Morn1ne, eeecceve Coeececesecesecs evccceseseseeeeese 9
CHAPTER lil.
ComMANDING AND OBEYING,.......0. ovhss 2. IGA FMD
CHAPTER III.
Pasteey occcsedes bvewbsesiee on bv seed ecccdccccce OO
CHAPTER IV.
Doe L@O?,. cocccccccecccccoccssceresense ccccccces 48
CHAPTER V.
Siens OF A Srorm,. eeeeese @eee*eeeeeeeeseeee eee 8a 75
CHAPTER VI.
Tur ReEscvk,. eeeeeeeoeveaenene @eeeeeoe ee eas eee eeeeee80@ 85
CHAPTER VII.
A FIRE, ..cccccoccedoses eeeceeseeseves @eeeseces eee 109
8 CONTENTS. |
*
CHAPTER VIII.
THE Carpine-Mi11L, eeceeeeereeoeeeeeeesoeseaeseeee ee 128
CHAPTER IX.
DIFFICULTY,.. sce cceccccersescescssesossescuseees 142
CHAPTER X.
A SuRPRISE,..-+++ eeoeseeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeoerveee 155
CHAPTER XI.
Tut Syow Fort, on Goop ror Evit,.....+++++++ 164
JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
CHAPTER I.
MORNING.
Earty one winter morning, while Jonas
was living upon the farm, in the employment
of Oliver’s father, he came groping down, just
before daylight, into the great room.
The great room was, as its name indicated,
quite large, occupying a considerable portion
of the lower floor of the farmer’s house.
There was a very spacious fireplace in one
side, with a settle, which was a long seat,
with a very high back, near it. The room
was used both for kitchen and parlor, and
there was a great variety of furniture in dif-
ferent parts of it. There were chairs and
tables, a bookcase with a desk below, a loom
in one corner by a window, and a spinning-
wheel near it. Then, there were a great
10 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
many doors. One led out into the back yard,
one up stairs, one into a back room, — which
was used for coarse work, and which was
generally called the kitchen, —and one into
a large store closet adjoining the great room.
Jonas groped his way down stairs; but as
soon as he opened the great room door, he
found the room filled with a flickering light,
which came from the fireplace. There was
a log there, which had been buried in the
ashes the night before. It had burned slowly,
through the night, and the fire had broken
out at one end, which now glowed like a
furnace, and illuminated the whole room with
a faint red light.
Jonas went up towards the fire. The
hearth was very large, and formed of great,
fiat stones. On one side of it was a large
heap of wood, which Jonas had prepared the
night before, to be ready for his fire. On the
other side was a black cat asleep, with her
_ ehin upon her paws. When the cat heard
Jonas coming, she rose up, stretched out her
fore paws, and then began to purr, rubbing
her cheeks against the bottom of the settle.
‘Good morning, Darco,†said Jonas. “It
is time to get up.â€
MORNING. 11
The cat’s name was Jarco.
Jonas took a pair of heavy iron tongs,
which stood by the side of the fire, and pulled
forward the log. He found that it had
burned through, and by three or four strokes
with the tongs, he broke it up into large
fragments of coal, of a dark-reddish color.
The air being thus admitted, they soon began
to brighten and crackle, until, in a few min-
utes, there was before him a large heap of
glowing and burning coals. He put a log on
behind, then placed the andirons up to the
log, and a great forestick upon the andirons.
He placed the forestick so far out as to leave
a considerable space between it and the back-
log, and then he put the coals up into this
space, — having first put in a slender stick,
resting upon the andirons, to keep the coals
from falling through. He then placed on a
great deal more wood, and he soon had a
roaring fire, which crackled Joud, and blazed
up into the chimney.
“Now for my lantern,†said Jonas.
So saying, he took down a lantern, which
hung by the side of the fire. The lantern
was made of tin, with holes punched through
it on all sides, so as to allow the light to
12 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
shine through; and yet the holes were not
large enough to admit the wind, to blow out
the light.
Jonas opened the lantern, and took out a
short candle from the socket within. Just
as he was lighting it, the door opened, and
Amos came in.
‘‘ Ah, Jonas,â€â€™ said he, “‘ you are before me,
as usual.â€
“Why, the youngest hand makes the fire,
of course,’’ said Jonas.
“Then it ought to be Oliver,†said Amos,
— “or else Josey.â€
“There! I promised to wake Oliver up,â€
said Jonas.
“QO, he’s awake; and he and Josey are
coming down. They have found out that
there is snow on the ground.â€
‘‘Is there much snow ?†asked Jonas.
“IT don’t know,†said Amos; “the ground
seems pretty well covered. If there is enough
to make sledding, you are going after wood
to-day.â€
“And what are you going to do?†said
Jonas.
“Tam going up among the pines to get
out the barn frame, I believe.â€
MORNING. 13
Here a door opened, and Oliver came in,
followed by Josey shivering with the cold,
and in great haste to get to the fire.
“Didn’t your father say,†said Amos to
Oliver, “that he was going with me to-day,
to get out the timber for the barn frame? â€
“Yes,†said Oliver, “he is going to build
a great barn next summer. But I’m going
up into the woods with Jonas, to haul wood.
There’s plenty of snow.â€
“I'd go too,†said Josey, “if it wasn’t so
cold.â€
“It won’t be cold in the woods,†said
Jonas. ‘“ There’s no wind in the woods.â€
While they had been talking thus, Jonas
had got his lantern ready, and had gone to
the door, and stood there a minute, ready to
go out.
“Jonas,†said Josey, “are you going out
into the barn?â€
“Yes,†said Jonas,
“Wait a minute, then, for me, Just till I put
on my other boot.â€
Jonas waited a minute, according to Josey’s
request, and then they all went out together.
They found the snow pretty deep, all over
the yard, but they waded through it to the
2
14 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
barn. They had to go through a gate, which
led them into the barn-yard. From the barn-
yard they entered the barn itself, by a small
door near one corner.
There were two great doors in the middle
of the barn, made so large that, when they
were opened, there was space enough fora
large load of hay tg go in. Opposite these
doors there was a space floored over with
plank, pretty wide, and extending through the
barn to the back side. ‘This was called the
barn floor. On one side was a place divided
off for stables for the horses, and on the other
side was the tie-up, a place for the oxen and
cows. ‘There was also the bay, and the
lofts for hay and grain ; and at the end of the
tie-up there was a door leading into a calf-
pen, and thence, by a passage behind the
calf-pen, to a work-shop and shed. The
small door where the boys came in, led to a
long and narrow passage, between the tie-up
and the bay. :
They walked along, Jonas going before
with his lantern in his hand. The cattle
which had lain down, began to get up,
and the horses neighed in their stalls; for
the shining of the lantern in the barn was
a
MORNING. 15
the well-known signal which called them to
breakfast.
Jonas clambered up by a long ladder to the
hay-loft, to pitch down some hay, and Josey
and Oliver followed him; while Amos re-
mained below to “feed out†the hay, as he
called it, as fast as they pitched it down. It
was pretty dark upon the loft, although the
lantern shed a feeble light upon the rafters
above.
‘‘ Boys,†said Jonas, “it is dangerous for
you to be up here ; I’d rather you’d go down.â€
“Well,†said Oliver, and he began to
descend.
“Why?†said Josey; “I don’t think
there’s any danger.â€
“Yes,†said Jonas, “a pitchfork wound is
worse than almost any other. It is what they
call a punctured wound.â€
‘What kind of a wound is that?†said
Josey.
‘Pl tell you some other time,†said Jonas.
But don’t stay up here. You don’t obey so
well as Oliver. Go down and give the old
beneral some hay.â€
The old General was the name of a large
White horse, quite old and steady, but of
16 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
great strength. When he was younger, he
belonged to a general, who used to ride him
upon the parade, and this was the origin of
his name.
Josey, at this proposal, made haste down
the ladder, and began to put some hay over
into the old General’s crib. He then went
round into the General’s stall, and, patting
him upon the neck, he asked him if his
breakfast was good.
In the mean time, Oliver opened the great
barn doors, and, taking a shovel, he began to
clear away the snow from beforethem. The
sky in the east was by this time beginning to
be quite bright ; and a considerable degree of
light from the sky, and from the new-fallen
snow, came into the barn. Josey got a shovel,
and went out to help Oliver. After they had
shoveled away the snow from the great barn
doors, they went to the house, and began to
clear the steps before the doors, and to make
paths in the yards. They worked in this
way for half an hour, and then, just as the
sun began first to show its bright, glittering
rays above the horizon, they went into the
house. They found that the great fire which
Jonas had built, was burnt half down; the
MORNING. 17
breakfast-table was set, and the brealkfast
itself was nearly ready.
The boys came to the fireplace, to see
what they were going to have for breakfast.
‘‘ Boys,†said the farmer’s wife, while she
was turning her cakes, “go and call Amos in
to family prayers, — and Jonas.â€
You go, Oliver,â€â€™ said Josey.
Oliver said nothing, but obeyed his mother’s
direction. He went into the barn-yard, and
he found Amos and Jonas at work in a shed
beyond, getting down a sled which had been
stowed away there during the summer. It
was a large and heavy sled, and had a tongue
extending forward to draw it by.
‘‘ What are you getting out that sled for?â€
said Oliver.
‘To haul wood on,†said Jonas. ‘ We’re
going to haul wood after breakfast, and I
want to get all ready.â€
There was another smaller and lighter
sled, which had been upon the top of the
heavy one, before Amos and Jonas had taken
it off. This smaller sled had two shafts to
draw it by, instead of atongue. Jonas knew
by this, that it was intended to be drawn by
QD *
\
18 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
a horse, while the one with a tongue was
meant for oxen.
“ Oliver,†said Jonas, “I think it would be
a good plan for you and Josey to take this
sled and the old General, and go with me to
haul wood.†.
“ Well,†said Oliver, “I should like it very
much.â€â€™ ‘
“ We can all go up together. You and
Josey can be loading the horse-sled, while I
load the ox-sled, and then we can drive them
down, and so get two loads down, instead of
one.â€
“ Well,†said Oliver, “I mean to ask my
father.â€
“Or perhaps,†continued Jonas, “ you can
be teamster for the oxen, and Josey can drive
the horse, and so I remain up in the woods,
cutting and splitting.â€
“No,†said Oliver, “ because we can’t
unload alone.†2
“No,†said Jonas; “1 had forgotten that.â€
“But I mean to ask my father,’’ said
Oliver, “to let me have the old General, and
haul a load down when you come.â€
So saying, the boys walked along towards
MORNING. 19
the house. The sun was now shining beau-
tifully upon the fresh snow, making it sparkle
in every direction, all around. They walked
in by the path which Oliver and Josey had
shoveled.
“Why didn’t you make your path wider ?â€
said Amos. ‘This isn’t wide enough for a
cow-path.â€â€™
“OQ, yes, Amos,†said Jonas, “it will do
very well. I can widen it a little when I
come out after breakfast.â€â€™
When they got to the door, Jonas stopped
a moment to look around. The fields were
white in every direction, and the branches
of the trees near the house were loaded with
the snow. The air was keen and frosty, and
the breaths of the boys were visible by the
vapor which was condensed by the cold.
The pond was one great level field of dazzling
white. All was silent— nothing was seen
of life or motion, except that Darco, who
came out when the door was opened, looked
around astonished, took a few cautious steps
along the path, and then, finding the snow
too deep and cold, went back again to take
her place once more by the fire.
"
20
CHAPTER II.
COMMANDING AND OBEYING.
Apovr an hour after breakfast, Jonas with
the oxen, and Oliver and Josey with the
horse, were slowly moving along up the road ©
which led back from the pond towards the
wood lot. The wood lot was a portion of
the forest, which had been reserved, to fur-
nish a supply of wood for the winter fires.
The road followed for some distance the
bank of the brook, which emptied into the
pond at the place where Jonas and Oliver
had cleared land, when Jonas first came to
live on this farm.
It was a very pleasant road. The brook
was visible here and there through the bushes
and trees on one side of it. These bushes
and trees were of course bare of leaves, ex-
cepting the evergreens, and they were loaded
down with the snow. Some were bent over
so that the tops nearly touched the ground.
The brook itself, too, was almost buried
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 21
and concealed in the snow. In the still
places, it had frozen over; and so the snow
had been supported by the ice, and thus it
concealed both ice and water. At the little
cascades and waterfalls, however, which oc-
curred here and there, the water had not fro-
zen. Water does not freeze easily where it
runs with great velocity. At these places,
therefore, the boys could see the water, and
‘hear it bubbling and gurgling as it fell, and
disappeared under the ice which had formed
below.
At last, they came to the wood lot. The
wood which they were going to haul had
been cut before, and it had been piled up
in long piles, extending here and there un-
der the trees which had been left. ‘These
piles were now, however, partly covered with
the snow, which lay light and unsullied all
over the surface of the ground.
The sticks of wood in these piles were of
different sizes, though they were all of the
same length. Some had been cut from the
tops of the trees, or from the branches, and
were, consequently, small in diameter ; others
were from the trunks, which would, of course,
make large logs. ‘These logs had, however,
22 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
been split into quarters by a beetle and
wedges, when the wood had been prepared,
so that there were very few sticks or Jogs so
large, but that Jonas could pretty easily get
them on to the sled.
Jonas drove his team up near to one end
of the pile, while Josey and Oliver went to
the other, where the wood was generally
small. While Jonas was loading, he heard a
conversation something like this between the
other boys: —
‘“Let’s put some good large logs on our
sled,†said Josey.
‘“‘ Well,â€â€™ said Oliver, “as large as we can ;
only we’d better put this small wood on
first.â€
‘“‘T wish you’d go around to the other side,
Oliver,†said Josey again; ‘“ you’re in my
way.â€
‘‘ No,†said Oliver, ‘‘I can’t work on that
side very well.’’
“Then I mean to move the old General
round a little.â€
“No,†said Oliver, “the sled stands just
right now ; only you get up on the top of the
pile, and [’ll stay here.â€
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 23
“No,†said Josey, ‘‘I’d rather stand here
myself.â€
So the boys continued at work a few
minutes longer, each being in the other’s
way.
At length, Josey said again, —
‘QO, here is a large log, and I mean to get
it out, and put it upon our sled.â€
The log was covered with smaller wood,
so that Josey could only get hold of the end
of it. He clasped his hands together under
this end, and began to lift it up, endeavoring
to get it free from the other wood. He suc-
ceeded in raising it a little, but it soon got
wedged in again, worse than before.
‘Come, Oliver,†said Josey, “help me get
out this log. It is rock maple.â€
“No,†said Oliver, “‘ I’m busy.’
‘‘ Jonas,†said Josey, calling out aloud,
‘Jonas, here’s a stick ef wood, which I can’t
get out. I wish you’d come and help me.â€
In answer to this request, Jonas only called
both the boys to come to him.
They accordingly left the old General
standing in the snow, with his sled partly
loaded, and came to the end of the pile,
where Jonas was at work.
24 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“] see you don’t get along very well,â€â€™ said
Jonas.
« Why; you see,†said Josey, “that Oliver
wouldn’t help me put on a great log.â€
«The difficulty is,†said Jonas, “ that you
both want to be master. Whereas, when
two people are working together, one must
| be master, and the other servant.â€
| «“ T don’t want to be servant,†said Josey. |
“Ts better to be servant on some ace
counts,†said Jonas; “ then you have no
responsibility.â€
“‘ Responsibility ?†repeated Josey.
“Yes,†said Jonas. “ Power and. responsi-
bility always go together ; — or at least they
ought to. But come, boys, be helping me
load, while we are settling this difficulty, so
as not to lose our time.â€
So the boys began to put wood upon
Jonas’s sled, while the conversation con-
tinued as follows: —
“Can't two persons work together, unless
one is master, and the other servant >†asked
Josey.
« At least,†replied Jonas, “ one must take
the lead, and the - other follow, in order to
work to advantage. There must be subordi-
Abhi
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 25
nation. For you see that, in all sorts of work,
there are a great many little questions coming
up, which are of no great consequence; only
they ought to be decided, one way or the
other, quick, or else the work won’t go on.
You act, in your work, like Jack and Jerry,
when they ran against the horse-block.â€â€™
‘Why, how was that?†said Josey.
“They were drawing the wagon along to
harness the horse in, and the horse-block was
in the way; so they both got hold of the
shafts, and Jack wanted to pull it around to-
wards the right, while Jerry said it would be
better to have it go to the left. So they
pulled, one one way, and the other the other,
and thus they got it up chock against the
horse-block, one shaft on each side. Here
they stood pulling in opposition for*some
time, and all the while their father was wait-
ing for them to turn the wagon, and harness
the horse.â€
‘What did he say to them,†said Oliver,
“when he found it out?â€
‘‘ He made Jack bring it round Jerry’s way,
and then made Jerry draw it back again, and
bring it along Jack’s way.
“When men are at work,†continued
3
26 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
Jonas, “one acts as director, and the rest fol-
low on, as he guides. Then all the unim-
portant questions are decided promptly.â€â€™
“ Well,†said Josey, ‘let us do so, Oliver.
I'll be director.â€â€™ |
“How do they decide who shall be di-
rector?†said Oliver.
“The oldest and most experienced directs,
generally ; or, if one is the employer, and the
others are employed by him, then the em-
ployer directs the others. If a man wants
a stone bridge built, and hires three men to
do it, there is always an understanding, at
the beginning, who shall have the direction
of the work, and all the others obey.
“So,†continued Jonas, “if a carpenter
were to send two of his men into the woods
to cut down a tree for timber, without saying
which of them should have the direction, —
then the oldest or most experienced, or the
one who had been the longest in the carpen-
ter’s employ, would take the direction. He
would say, ‘ Let us go out this way,’ and the
other would assent; or, ‘I think we had
better take this tree,’ and the other would
say, perhaps, ‘Here’s one over here which
looks rather straighter; won’t you come and
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 27
look at this?’ But they would not dispute
about it. One would leave it to the other to
decide.â€
“Suppose,†said Josey, ‘‘one was just as
old and experienced as the other.’’
‘Why, if there was no reason, whatever,
why one should take the lead, rather than
the other, then they would not either of them
be tenacious of their opinion. If one pro-
posed to do a thing, the other would comply
without making any objection, unless he had
a very decided objection indeed. So they
would get along peaceably.
“Now,†continued Jonas, ‘ boys are very
apt to have different opinions, and to be very
tenacious of them, and so get into disputes
and difficulties when they are working to-
gether. . Therefore, when boys are set to
work, it is generally best to appoint one to
take the charge ; for they haven’t, generally,
good sense enough to find out, themselves,
which it is most proper should be in charge.
“For instance, now,†continued Jonas,
“which of you, do you think, on the whole,
is the proper one to take the direction of the
work, when you are set to work together? â€
“T,†said Josey, with great promptness.
28 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
Oliver did not answer at all.
“'There’s one reason why you ought not
to be the one,†said Jonas. |
‘What is it?†said Josey.
“Why, you don’t obey very well. No
person is well qualified to command, until he
has learned to obey.â€
“T obey,†said Josey, “ I’m sure.â€
“ Not always,†said Jonas. “'This morn-
ing, when you were upon the haymow, and
I told you both to go down, Oliver went
down immediately; but you remained up,
and made excuses instead of obeying.â€
Josey was silent. He perceived that Jo-
nas’s charge against him was just. _
“ Besides,†continued Jonas, “there are
some other reasons why Oliver should com-
mand, rather than you. First, he understands
more of farmer’s work, being more accus-
tomed to it; secondly, he is older.â€
“No,†interrupted Josey, “he isn’t older.
I’m the oldest.â€
“ Are you?†said Jonas.
“Yes,†replied Josey. “I’m two months
older than he is.â€
Oliver had so much more prudence and
discretion, and being, besides, a little larger
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 29
than Josey, made Jonas think that he was
older. |
“Well,†said Jonas, ‘at any rate, he has
more judgment and experience, and he cer-
tainly obeys better. So you may go back
to your work, and let Oliver take the com-
mand, and then, after a little while, if Oliver
says that you have obeyed him well, I’ll try
the experiment of letting you, Josey, com-
mand.â€
The boys accordingly went back, and fin-
ished loading up the old General. Oliver
took the direction, and Josey obeyed very
well. Now and then he would forget for a
moment, and begin to argue ; but Josey would
submit pretty readily, for he was very desi-
rous that Jonas would let him command next
time; and he thought that he would not
allow him to command until he had learned
to obey.
They had the two sleds loaded nearly at
the same time, and then went down. When
they were going back after the second load,
they all got on to Jonas’s sled, which was for-
ward, to ride, leaving the old General to follow
with his sled. He was so well trained thai
he walked along very steadily. Oliver fast:
2%
30 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
ened the reins to one of the stakes, so that
they should not get down under the horse’s
feet. The boys all got together upon the for-
ward sled, in order that they might talk with
one another as they were going back to the
woods.
“Now, Josey,†said Jonas, “ we will let
you have the command for the next trip, and,
while we are going back, I will give you
both some instructions.â€
“ About obeying?†said Josey.
“Yes, and about commanding too,†said
Jonas. “It requires rather more skill to
know how to command, than how to obey ;
to know how to direct work, than to know
how to execute it. A good director, in the
first place, takes care to plan wisely, and he
feels a responsibility about the work, and a
desire to have it go on to good advantage.
If some men build a wall, and, after it is fin-
ished, it tumbles down, the man who had
charge of the work would feel more con-
cerned about it than any of the others, be-
cause the chief responsibility comes upon
him. So with your work, — if you have the
command, and you and Oliver idle away the .
time, and when my sled is loaded, yours has
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 31
but little wood in it, you would be more to
blame than Oliver.â€
“ What, if I didn’t play any more than
Oliver?â€
“Yes,†said Jonas, “because you are re-
sponsible. It is your duty to be industri-
ous, and it is also your duty to see that Oliver
is industrious, if you are the director, —so
that you neglect two duties.
“It is a good plan, too,†said Jonas, “for a.
director to give his directions in a mild and
gentle tone. Some boys are very domineer-
ing and authoritative in their manner.â€
“How do you mean?†said Josey.
“ Why, they would say, for example, ‘Get
out of the way, John, quick.’ Whereas, it
would be better to say, ‘John, you are in
the way, where we want to come along.’
Some men give their directions with great
noise and vociferation, and others give them
quietly and gently.â€
“T shouldn’t think they’d mind ’em,â€
said Josey.
“Yes,†said Jonas. “ Directions ought to
be given very distinctly, so as to be plainly
understood; but they are not obeyed any
better for violence and noise in giving them.
32 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“ A commander onght to have a regard for
those under him,†continued Jonas, “and
deal justly by them. If a number of boys
were going to ride in a wagon, and their
father put one of them in charge, he ought
not to keep the best seat in the wagon for
himself.â€â€™
While talking thus, the oxen continued
slowly advancing along the road. Their
previous trip had broken out the road, but
the pathway was filled with loose snow of a
pure and spotless white, through which the
great sled runners, following the oxen,
ploughed their way. On each side of the
track which they had made, the surface was
smooth and unbroken, excepting under some
of the trees, where masses of snow had fallen
down from above. They saw, at length, as
they were passing along by the brook, a
little track, like a double dotting, running
along, in a winding way, under the trees, —
then crossing the road, and disappearing under
the trees upon the other side.
“ What’s that?†said Josey.
‘'That’s a rabbit track,†replied Oliver.
“Let’s go and catch him,†said Josey.
COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 33
“No,†said Jonas, “we must go on with
our work.â€
At a little distance farther on, they saw
another track. It was larger than the first,
and not so regular.
‘‘ What sort of a track is that?†said Josey.
‘“T don’t know,†said Oliver; “it looks like
a dog’s track; but I shouldn’t think there
would be a dog out here in the woods.â€
They found that this track followed the
road along for some distance. The animal
which made it, seemed sometimes to have
gone in the middle of the road, and sometimes
out at the side; and Jonas said that he had
passed there since they went down with the
first load of wood.
‘How do you know ?†said Oliver.
‘‘ Because,†said Jonas, “his track is made
upon the broken snow, in the middle of the
road.â€â€™
They watched the track for some time,
and then they lost sight of it. Presently,
however, they saw it again.
“I wonder which way he went,†said
Oliver.
“VIl jump off, and look at the track,’’ said
Jonas.
34 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
So saying, he jumped off the sled, and ex-
amined the track. |
“He went up,†said Jonas, “the same
way that we are going. It may be a dog
which has lost his master. Perhaps we shall
find him up by our wood piles.â€
Jonas was right, for, when the boys arrived
at the wood piles, they found there, waiting
for them, a large black dog. He stood near
one end of a wood pile, with his fore feet
upon a log, by which his head and shoulders
were raised, so that he could see better who
was coming. He was of handsome form,
and he had an intelligent and good-natured
expression of countenance. He was looking
very intently at the party coming up, to see
whether his master was among them.
“Whose dog is that?†said Josey.
“T don’t know,†said Oliver; “I never
saw him before.â€
“ [ wondergwhat his name is,â€â€™ said Josey.
“ Here! Towzer, Towzer, Towzer,†said he.
“ Here! Caesar, Ceesar, Cesar,†said Oliver.
“Pompey, Pompey, Pompey,†said Jonas.
The dog remained motionless in his posi-
tion, until, just as the boys had finished their
calls, and as the foremost sled was drawn
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COMMANDING AND OBEYING. 37
pretty near him, he suddenly wheeled around
with a leap, and bounded away through the
snow, for half the length of the first wood
pile, and then stopped, and again looked
round.
‘“[ wish we had something for him to eat,â€â€™
said Jonas.
“T’ve got apiece uf bread and butter,†said
Josey. ‘I went in and got it when you and
Oliver were unloading.â€
So Josey took his bread and butter out of
his pocket. 'There were two small slices put
together, and folded up in a piece of paper.
Jonas took a piece, and walked slowly to-
wards the dog.
“Here! Franco, Franco,†said Jonas.
‘He’s coming,†said Josey, who remained
with Oliver at the sled.
The dog was slowly and timidly approach-
ing the bread which Jonas held out towards
him.
‘“He’s coming,†said Josey. ‘“ His name
is Franco. I wonder how Jonas knew.â€
“Franco, Franco,†said Jonas again.
“Come here, Franco. Good Franco!â€
The dog came timidly up to Jonas, and
took the bread and butter from Josey’s hand,
, 4
38 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
and devoured it eagerly. While he. was
doing it, Jonas patted him on the head.
“ He’s very hungry,†said Jonas ; “ bring
the rest of your bread and butter, Josey.â€
So Josey brought the rest of his luncheon,
and the dog ate it all.
After this, he seemed to be quite at ease
with his new friends. He staid about there
with the boys until the sleds were loaded,
and then he went down home with them.
There they fed him again with a large bone.
Jonas said that he was undoubtedly a dog
that had lost his master, and had been wan-
dering about to find him, until he became
very hungry. So he said they would leave
him in the yard to gnaw his bone, and that
then he would probably go away. Josey
wanted to shut him up and keep him, but
Jonas said it would be wrong.
So the boys left the dog gnawing his bone,
and went up dfter another load ; but, before
they had half loaded their sleds, Oliver saw
Franco coming, bounding up the road, towards
them. He came up to Jonas, and stood be-
fore him, looking up into his face and wag-
ging his tail.
39
CHAPTER III.
FRANCO.
Franco followed the boys all that fore-
noon, as they went back and forth for their
wood. At dinner, they did not say any thing
about him to the farmer, because they sup-
posed that he would go away, when they
came in and left him, and that they should
see no more of him in the afternoon. But
when Jonas went out, after dinner, to get the
old General, to harness him for work again,
he found Franco lying snugly in the Gen-
eral’s stall, under the crib.
At night, therefore, he told the farmer about
him. ‘The farmer said that he was some dog
that had strayed away from his master; and
he told Jonas to go out after supper and
drive him away. Josey begged his uncle to
keep him, but his aunt said she would not
have a dog about the house. She said it:
would cost as much to keep him as to keep
a sheep, and that, instead of bringing them
AO JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
a good fleece, a dog was good for nothing,
but to track your floors in wet weather, and
keep you awake all night with his howling.
So the farmer told Jonas to go out after
supper, and drive the dog away.
“Let us give him some supper first, father,â€
said Oliver.
“No,†said his father ; “ the more you give
him, the more he won’t go away. I expect
now, you've fooled with him so much, that
‘t will be hard to get him off, at any rate.â€â€™
“ Jonas has not fooled with him any,†said
Oliver.
‘Nor I,†said Josey.
After supper, Jonas went out, according to
orders, to drive Franco away. ‘Tt was a raw,
windy night, but not very cold. Franco
was in a little shed where there was a well,
near the back door. He was lying down,
but he got up and came to Jonas when he
saw him appear at the door.
“ Come, Franco,†said Jonas, ‘“ come with
me.â€
Franco wagged his tail, and followed Jonas.
Jonas walked out into the road, Franco
after him. He walked along until he had
got to some distance from the house, Franco
FRANUU. Al
keeping up with him all the way, sometimes
on one side of the road, and sometimes on
the other. At length, when Jonas thought
that he had gone far enough, he stopped.
Franco stopped too, and looked up at Jonas.
‘‘Now, Franco, I’ve got to send you away.
It’s a hard case, Franco, but you and I must
both submit to orders. So go off, Franco, as
fast as you can.â€
So saying, Jonas pointed along the road,
in the direction away from the house, and
said, ‘‘St— boy! St—boy!â€
Franco darted along the road a few steps,
barked once, and then turned round, and
looked eagerly at Jonas, as if he did not
know what he wanted him to do.
“Get home!’ said Jonas, in a stern and
severe tone; “get home!†and he stamped
with his foot upon the ground, and looked at
Franco with a countenance of displeasure.
Franco bounded forward a few steps over
the smooth and icy road, and then he turned
round, and stood in the middle of the road, .
facing Jonas, and looking very much aston-
ished.
‘Get home, Franco!†said Jonas again ;
and, stooping down, he took a piece of hard-
A*
42 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
ened snow or ice from the road, and threw
it towards him. The ice fell, before it
reached Franco, and rolled along towards his
feet, which made him scamper along a little
farther; and then he stopped, and turned
around, and looked at Jonas, as before.
Jonas began slowly to return backwards,
keeping his eye on Franco.
“It’s a hard case, Franco, 1 acknowledge.
If I had a barn of my own, I’d let you sleep
in a corner of it; but I must shew orders.
You must go and find your master.â€â€™
So saying, Jonas turned round and walked
slowly home. Just before he turned to go
into the house, he looked back, to see what
had become of the dog. He was standing
motionless in the place where Jonas had left
him.
“] wish the farmer would let me give
him a bone,†said he to himself; and then
he turned away, and walked slowly around
to the barn, to fodder the cattle.
That night, just before bed-time, he went
to the front door, and looked out into the
road, and all around, to see if he could see
any thing of Franco. It was rather dark and
windy, —though he could see the moon
FRANCO. | 43
shining dimly through the broken clouds,
which were driving across the sky. ‘The
roads looked black, as they do about the
commencement of a thaw. Presently the
moon shone out full through the interstices of
the clouds. Jonas took advantage of the op-
portunity to look all up and down the road ;
but Franco was nowhere to be seen.
The next morning, however, when he
went out into the stable to give the cattle
some hay, he found Franco in his old place,
under the General’s crib.
“ Why, Franco,†said Jonas, “ how came
you here?â€
Franco said nothing, but stood looking up
into Jonas’s face, and wagging his tail.
“Franco,†said Jonas, “how could you
get in here?â€
Franco remained in the same position ;
the light of the lantern shining in his face,
and his tail wagging a very little. He could
not tell certainly whether Jonas was scolding
him or nat.
Franco remained about the barn until
breakfast-time, and then Jonas, at the table,
told the farmer that he tried to drive the dog
44 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
away the night before, but that in the morn-
ing he found him in the barn.
“TJ don’t believe you really tried,†said the
farmer’s wife. “J can drive him away, I
know, —as I’ll show you after breakfast.â€
Accordingly, after breakfast, putting on
hastily an old straw bonnet, she went out
into the yard, and took a small stick from
the wood pile, to use for a club, and then
called to Franco.
“ Franco,†said she, ‘‘ come here.â€
Franco looked first at her, and then at
Jonas, who was standing in the door-way, as
if at a loss to know what to do.
“Go, Franco,†said Jonas.
The farmer’s wife walked out in front of
the house into the wind, calling Franco to
follow. She then attempted to drive him
along the road, much as Jonas had done.
She brandished her stick at him, and, when
she had succeeded in getting him as far from
her as-she could, by stern and threatening
language, in order to drive him farther, she
threw the stick at him with all her force.
Franco jumped out of its way. The stick
rolled along the road before him. He sprang
forward to it, seized it in his mouth, and came
FRANCO. 45
trotting back to the farmer’s wife, and laid it
down at her feet; and then, standing back a
few steps, he looked up into her face, with a
very earnest expression of countenance, which
seemed to say, —
“What do you want me to do next?â€
This act of Franco’s embarrassed the
woman considerably. She could not bear to
take up the very stick, which Franco had
himself brought to her, and throw it at him
again; and, on the other hand, she could
not bear to give up, and let Franco remain.
She, however, picked up the stick, and bran-
dished it again towards Franco, and, stamping
with her foot at him, she said, —
‘“ Away with you, dog; get home!â€
What the result of this contest would have
been, it is very difficult to say, had it not been
that it was soon decided by the occurrence
of a singular incident; for, as the farmer’s
wife nodded her head, and stamped at the
dog, the jar or the motion seemed to give the
wind a momentary advantage over her bon-
net, which, in her haste, she had not tied on
very securely. A strong gust carried it, clear
from her head, and blew it away over Franco,
upon the snow by the side of the road be-
A6 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
yond. Franco, who was all ready for a
spring, bounded after it, and pursued it at full
speed. The snow was nearly level with the
top of the stone walls, and the wind carrying
it diagonally from the road, it rolled over the
little ridge of stones which remained above
the drifts, and then swept across the field,
down a long descent, like a feather before
the gale.
Franco pursued it with flying leaps over
the snow, which had become sufficiently
consolidated to support his steps. He gained
upon it rapidly, and at length overtook and
seized it; and then, turning round, he trot-
ted swiftly back, leaped over the top of the
wall, and brought the bonnet, and laid it
down at its owner’s feet, with an air of great
satisfaction.
The good woman took up her bonnet, and
threw her stick away, and, turning around,
walked back to the house. The farmer, who
had been looking out at the window, was
laughing heartily. She herself smiled as she
returned to her work, saying, —-
“The dog has something in him, I ac-
knowledge; go and see if you can’t find him
a hone, Jonas.â€
FRANCO. 47
“Yes, Jonas,†said the farmer, “ you may
have him for your dog till the owner comes
and claims him.â€
And this is the way that Jonas first got his
dog Franco. He told Oliver that morning,
as he was patting his head under the old
General’s crib, that the dog had taught them
one good lesson.
‘‘ What is it?’’ asked Oliver.
‘Why, that the Christian duty of return-
ing good for evil, is good policy as well as
good morals.â€â€™
48
CHAPTER IV.
DOG LOST.
Axsour the middle of the winter, the farmer
went to market with his produce. The ve-
hicle on which he carried it was a kind of
box upon runners, with a pole in front, to
which two horses were fastened. He was
gone three days.
When he came back, he said that he had
bargained for another load of his produce, at
the market town, and that he was going to
send Jonas with it. Jonas was very glad
when he heard this. He liked to take
journeys.
“What day shall I go, sir?†said Jonas.
“Day after to-morrow,†said the farmer,
‘as early as possible. We'll let the horses
rest one day.â€
About the middle of the afternoon, on the
day following the one on which this conver-
sation had taken place, Jonas and the farmer
DOG LOST. 49
began to load up the box sleigh, in order to
have it ready for the morning. He had
about forty miles to go, and he wanted to
get to market, deliver his load, and return
five or ten miles that same evening.
It was quite cold’that afternoon, and it
seemed to be growing colder and colder.
Jonas got the box sleigh ready under a shed,
first shoveling in some snow under the run-
ners, in order that the horses might draw the
sled out easily, when it was loaded. He put
in the various articles of produce, which were
contained in bags, and firkins, and boxes.
Over these he spread blankets and buffalo-
skins, and put in’a bag of oats for his horses,
and a box of bread and cheese for himself.
He did not know whether Franco was to go
with‘ him, or not; but he arranged the bags
in such a way, that he could easily make a
“warm nest for him in one corner, if the farmer
should allow him to go.
The farmer helped him about all the ar-
rangements; and, when they were completed,
he told Jonas to go in and get his supper, and
go to bed, so as to get up and set off early in
the morning.
“It will be a fine starlight night,†said: he,
5
60 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
and you’d better be ten miles on your way
by sunrise.â€
When Amos got up the next morning, and
went out with his lantern, to go to the barn,
as he passed by the shed on his way, he saw
that the sleigh was gone. He proceeded to
the barn, and, as he opened the door, he was
startled at something which suddenly darted
past him and rushed out.
“What's that?†said Oliver, who was be-
hindhim. “Itis Franco,†said he. ‘“ Where
is he going?†,
Franco ran off to the shed where Jonas
had harnessed his horses, and began smell-
ing around upon the ground. He followed
the scent along across the yard, up to a post
by the side of the house, where Jonas had
stopped a moment to go in and get his great-
coat, when all was ready ; and then, after
pausing here a moment, he darted off towards
the road.
“Here! Franco, Franco,†said Amos,
“eome back here.â€
“ Franco, Franco,†repeated Oliver, “here
— here — here — here.†|
Franco paid no attention to these calls, but
rah off along the road at full speed.
DOG LOST. 51
In the mean time, Jonas haa travelled
rapidly onward, by the light of the stars, over
the glittering and frosty road.
The keen air made his ears tingle a little,
but he rubbed them, and they soon became
warm. His feet were comfortably stowed
away down in his box, among the bags and
buffalo-skins, so that they were warm and
comfortable.
The horses trotted along at good speed,
and soon brought Jonas and his load to the
village at the mill. The street was vacant,
and the houses dark, excepting that a faint
light shone behind a curtain in one chamber
window. Jonas supposed that somebody
was sick there. Even the mill was silent,
and the gate shut down; and, instead of the
ordinary roar of the water under the wheel,
only a hissing sound was heard, where the
imprisoned water spouted through the crev-
ices of the flume. Vast stalactites of ice ex-
tended continuously along the whole face
of the dam, like a frozen waterfall, behind
which the water percolated curiously down
into the foaming abyss, at the bottom of the
fall. Jonas thought that all this, seen by
starlight, looked very cold.
52 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
The horses trotted across the bridge with
a loud sound, which reverberated far and wide
in the still night. He ascended the hill be-
yond, and drove on. His woollen comforter,
tied about his neck, became frosted over
from his breath ; and the breasts, and mane,
and sides, of the horses were gradually sprin-
kled with white, in the same way. ‘They
were both black horses, — the General having
been left at home. ‘They trotted down the
hills and along the level portions of the road,
and wheeled around the curves, with great
speed. Jonas found that he had no occasion
for his whip, and so he put it away behind
him, under the buffaloes.
He went on in this way, without any
special adventure, for a couple of hours, and
then began to see a gray light appearing in
the eastern sky. About the same time, the
windows of the farm-houses, which he passed
on the road, began to be illuminated by the
fires, which they were kindling within.
Now and then, he could see a man hurrying
out to a barn, to feed the cattle. Jonas
thought that they ought to be up earlier.
The sun rose soon after, and the fields on
every side sparkled by the reflection of his
DOG LOST. 53
rays, from the crystalline surface of the snow.
Tall columns of dense white smoke ascended
from the chimneys, some erect, others lean-
ing a little, some one way, some anotlier. In
a word, it was a cold, still, winter morning.
At length, as Jonas was walking his horses
up a long hill, he heard light footsteps behind
him. He turned round to see what was
coming, and, to his utter astonishment, he
saw Franco, coming up, upon the full run,
and close behind the sleigh. He came to the
side of it, and looked up, with every appear-
ance of exultation and joy. |
“Why, Franco,†said Jonas, “how came
you here?â€
He stopped his horses, and Franco leaped
up before him. His ears, and the glossy
black hair which curled under his neck and
upon his sides, were tipped with frost. Jonas
patted him upon his head, saying, —
‘“Why, Franco, how did you get out of the
barn ? and how did you find out which way
I came?â€
Franco wagged his tail, and curled down
around Jonas’s feet, but he made no reply.
Jonas was very much surprised, for, as he
had no permission to take Franco, he had
5*
54 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
concluded that it was his duty not to take
him; and when he found that he was inclined
to come with him, at the time that he was
harnessing the horses, he conducted him back
into the barn, and, to make it secure, he
fastened up the place where he had got in,
the first night that he lodged there. He
knew that the barn would be opened when
Amos came out in the morning, to take care
of the old General and the oxen, but said he
to himself, “I shall by that time be ten miles
off, and it will be too late for him to follow
or find me.†Jonas was therefore very much
surprised, when he found that Franco had
contrived to make his escape, and to track
his master so many miles.
Jonas drove on very prosperously, until it
was about time for him to stop and give his
horses some breakfast. As for himself, he
ate his breakfast from his box, when they
were coming up along hill. He accordingly
stopped at a tavern, and took his horses out
of their harness, and rubbed them down well,
and gave them a good drink of water, and
plenty of oats, which he bought of the tavern-
keeper. He k2pt the oats in his bag to use
‘1 the town. By the time that he stopped,
DOG LOST. 55
he was comfortably warm, for he had taken
some exercise walking up the hills. Franco
always got out when Jonas did, at the bottom
of the hills, and then got in again at the top.
He remained in the sleigh, however, at the
tavern, keeping guard, while Jonas went into
the house; and he would growl a little if any
body came near the sleigh, and thus warn
them not to touch any thing that was in it.
While the horses were eating, Jonas went
into the tavern, and sat down by the kitchen
fire. ‘The fire was very large, and many
persons were busy getting breakfast. Jonas
wished that he was going to have a cup of
the coffee that they were making; but he
thought it better that he should content him-
self with what the farmer had provided for
him. There was a young woman in the
back part of the room, at a window, sewing.
She asked Jonas how far he had come that
morning, and he told her. Then she said
that he must have set out very early; and
she said that he had a pair of very handsome
black horses. She had seen them as Junas
passed the window.
There was a small girl sitting aear her,
with a slate, ciphering. She seemed very
56 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
busy for a few minutes, and then she looked
up to the young woman, and said, —
“My sum does not come right, aunt
Lucia.â€
“ Doesn’t it? I’m sorry, but I can’t help
you now, very well,†replied aunt Lucia.
“T am very busy with my sewing.â€
The little girl then got up, and came to-
wards the fire, with her slate hanging by a
string from her finger, and her Arithmetic
under her arm.
“ Where are you ciphering ?†asked Jonas.
“In fractions,†said the girl.
“Tf you will let me look at your sum, per-
haps I can tell you how to do it,’? replied
Jonas.
The girl handed her book to him, and
showed him the sum in it. She also let him
see the work upon her slate. Jonas looked it
over very carefully, and then said, —
“You have done very well indeed, with
such a hard sum. ‘There is only one mis-
take.†|
And Jonas pointed out the mistake to her,
and she corrected it, and then the answer
was right. She then went and put away
her slate and book, with an appearance of
DOG LOST. 57
great satisfaction. As she passed by the win-
dow, aunt Lucia whispered to her, to say, —
“T think you had better thank’ that young
man, and give him a mug of coffee.â€
‘¢ Well,†said the little girl, “I will.†So
she went to a cupboard at the side of the
room, and took down a tin mug. She
poured out some coffee from a coffee-pot, and
put in some milk and sugar, and then.
brought it to Jonas, and asked him if he
wouldn’t like a little coffee. Jonas thanked
her, and took the coffee ; and he liked it very
much.
After this, Jonas harnessed his horses again,
and wenton. He travelled until nearly noon,
and then he arrived at the town where he
was to leave his load. He had a letter toa
merchant, who had bought the produce of
the farmer, and, in a very short time, his load
was taken out, and the other articles put in,
which he was to carry back in exchange. He
had some money given him by the merchant,
in part payment for his load of produce. It
was in bank-notes, and he put it into his
waistcoat pocket, and pinned it in.
‘Then he set out on his return. His load
was light, the road was smooth, and his
58 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
~-
horses, though they had travelled fast, had
been driven carefully, and they carried him
rapidly over the ground. It was the middle
of the afternoon, however, before he set out,
and the days were then so short, that the sun
soon began to go down. He had to ride
quite into the evening, before he reached the
place where he was to stop for the night.
He put up his horses, and then went into
the house. He called for some supper, for
his own provisions had long since been ex-
hausted. After supper, he carried ont some-
thing for Franco, whom he had left in the
sleigh in the barn, lying upon a good warm
buffalo, to watch the property.
“Franco,†said he, “here is your supper.â€
Franco jumped up when he heard Jonas’s
voice, and leaped out of the sleigh. He took
his supper, and Jonas, after once more feed-
ing his horses, went out, and shut the door,
leaving Franco to finish his bone by himself.
Jonas went back into the tavern, and took
his seat by the fire. ‘There was a table be-
fore the fire, with a lamp upon it; and there
were one or two books and an old newspaper
lying upon another table, in the back part of
the room. Jonas looked at the books, but
DOG LOST. 59
they were not interesting to read. One was
a dictionary. He read the newspaper for
some time, and then he took the lamp up,
and began to look at some pictures of the
prodigal son, which were hung up upon the
wall over the mantel-piece.
Beyond the pictures were some advertise-
ments. One was for a farm for sale. Jonas
read the description, and he wished that he
was old enough to buy a farm, and then he
would go and look at that.
The next advertisement was about some
machinery, which a man had invented; and
the next was headed, in large letters, Dog
Lost. ‘This caught Jonas’s attention immedi-
ately. It was in writing, and he could not
read it very easily, it was so high. So he
got a chair, and stood up i it, and read as
follows : —
“<< Pjog Lost.
“¢ Strayed or stolen from the subscriber, a
valuable dog, of large size and black color.’
“] wonder if it isn’t Franco,’ said Jonas,
interrupting himself in his reading.
“¢ He had ona brass collar marked with
the owner’s name.’
60 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“No,†said Jonas, “there was no collar.
But then the man that stole him might have
taken it off.
“« Answers to the name of Ney.’
“Ney, Ney,†said Jonas, — ‘I never called
him Ney. I wonder if he would answer, if
I should call him Ney.
“<¢ Ts kind and docile, and quite intelligent.’
‘“‘- Yes,†said Jonas, “I verily believe it is
Franco.
“¢ Any person who will return said dog to
the subscriber, at his residence at Walton
Plain, shall be suitably rewarded.
James Epwarps.’
“T verily believe it is Franco,†said Jonas.
as he slowly got down from the chair, —
‘Walton Plain.â€
He stood a moment, looking thoughtfully
into the fire.
“Yes,†he repeated, “‘I verily believe it is
Franco. I wonder where Walton Plain is.â€
Jonas had learned from Mr. Holiday, that
it was never wise to communicate important
information relating to private business, unless
necessary. So he said nothing about Franco
to any of the people at the tavern, but quietly
DOG LOST. 61
went to bed; and, after thinking some time
what to do, he went to sleep, and slept finely
until morning.
_ About daylight, he arose, and, as he had
paid his bill the night before, he went to the
barn, harnessed his horses, and set off. At
the first village that he came to after sunrise,
he stopped at a store, and inquired whether
there was any such town as Walton Plain, in
that neighborhood.
“Yes,†said the boy, who stood with a
broom in his hand, with which he was
sweeping out the store,— ‘“‘yes, it is about
five miles from here, right on the way you
are going.â€
Jonas thanked the boy, got into his sleigh,
and rode on.
‘Poor Franco,†said he, “I am afraid I
must lose you.â€
He. had hoped that Walton Plain would
have proved to be off of his road, so that he
could have had a good reason for not doing
any thing about restoring the dog, until after
he had gone home, and reported the facts to
the farmer. But now, as he found that it
was on his way, and as he would very prob-
ably go directly by Mr. Edwards’s door, he
6
62 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
concluded that he ought, at any rate, to call
and let him look at Franco, and see whether
it was his dog or not.
When he reached Walton Plain, he in-
quired whether Mr. James Edwards lived in
the village. They told him that he lived
about half a mile out of the village. They
said it was a handsome white house, under
the trees, back from the road, with a portico
over the door.
Jonas rode on, observing all the houses as
he passed ; and he at once recognized the
one which had been described to him. He
stopped before the great gate, and fastened
his horses to a post. He then walked along
a road-way, which led in by the end of the
house, and presently came to a door, where
he stopped and knocked. A girl came and
opened the door.
“Ts Mr. Edwards at home ?â€
“Yes,†said the girl.
“ Will you ask him to come to the door a
minute ?â€â€™
‘You'd better walk in, and I'll speak to
him.â€
Jonas stepped into an entry, which was
carpeted, and which had a large map, hang-
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DOG LOST. 65
ing against the wall. The girl opened a
door into a little room, which looked some-
what like Mr. Holiday’s study. There was
a great deal of handsome furniture in it, and
book-shelves around the walls. A large table
was in the middle of the room, covered with
books and papers.
The girl handed Jonas a seat.
“Who shall I say has called?†said she
to Jonas, as she was about to go out of the
room.
‘Why —I—my name is Jonas,†he re-
plied ; “but I don’t suppose Mr. Edwards
knows me. I came to see him about his
dog.â€
At this remark, the girl looked around to-
wards the fire, and Jonas involuntarily turned
his eyes in the same direction. He saw
there a large dog, very much like Franco in
form and size, lying upon the carpet. He
was as handsome as Franco. Jonas was sur-
prised to see him. The girl, too, looked sur-
prised. She, however, said nothing, but
went out, and shut the door.
In a few minutes, the door opened, and an
elderly gentleman, with grayish hair, and a
mild and pleasant expression of countenance,
6 *
66 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
came in. He nodded to Jonas as he entered,
and Jonas rose to receive him. The gentle-
man then took a seat by the fire, and asked
Jonas to sit down again.
“T came to see you, sir, about your dog,â€
said Jonas.
“ Well, my boy,†replied the man, “and
what about my dog?†and, as he said this,
he looked down at the dog, which was lying
upon the floor.
“J don’t know but that I have got
him.â€â€™
“You have got him?†repeated Mr. Ed-
wards.
“Yes, sir; a dog lke that one came to
me in the woods one day this winter.â€
“OQ,†said Mr. Edwards, ‘ you mean the
dog that I lost.— Yes,—I had forgotten
that, it is so long ago. When did you find
him?â€
Jonas then told the whole story of the
dog’s coming to them, and of their attempt
to drive him away; and also of his seeing
the advertisement in the tavern. Mr. Ed-
wards asked him a great many questions,
such as what his name was, where he lived,
and how long he had lived there, and how
DOG LOST. 67
he happened to be journeying now. At last
he said, —
“T think it very probable that it is my
dog. I lost one of that description six or
eight months ago, and advertised him; but
I couldn’t hear any thing of him, and so I got
another as much like him as I could. It is
probable yours is the same dog ; but I don’t
know that there is any particular proof of it.
You haven’t called him Ney, have you?â€
‘No, sir,’ said Jonas; ‘we call him
Franco.â€
‘If he should come at the call of Ney,
that would be proof. Where is he now ?â€
‘‘He is with me, sir; he is out in my
sleigh.â€
‘‘Q, well, then,†said the man, ‘‘ we can
tell ina moment. [I'll step to the door and
call him.â€
So Mr. Edwards put on his hat, and
stepped to the door. The dog was standing
up in the sleigh, and looking wildly around.
When he saw Mr. Edwards, he seemed more
excited still.
‘“‘ Here, Ney,†said Mr. Edwards.
The dog leaped down from the sled, and
came bounding up the road. He leaped first
68 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
about Mr. Edwards, and then about Jonas,
as if at a loss which was his master.
“Why, Ney,†said Mr. Edwards, — “ poor
Ney, —have you got back at last? Come,
walk in, Ney.â€
Ney slipped in through the door, and
turned immediately into the little room, as if
he was perfectly familiar with the localities.
Jonas and Mr. Edwards followed. They
shut the door, and took their seats again.
Ney ran around the room, and examined
every thing. He looked at the strange dog
lying so comfortably in his old p'ace upon
the warm carpet, and then came and gazed
up eagerly into his old master’s face a mo-
ment. He came to Jonas, and wagged his
tail, and then he went to the door and
whined, as if he wanted to go out.
‘¢'Won’t you let him out?†said M: Ed-
wards. ‘ We will see what he will do.â€
Jonas opened the door, and the dog ran out
into the entry, and then made the same signs
to have the outer door opened. Jonas opened
it, and let him out. Jonas stepped out him-
self a moment, to see what he would do, and
presently returned again to the room where
he had left Mr. Edwards.
DOG LosT. 69
“Where did he go?†said Mr. Edwards.
“He has run to the sleigh,†said Jonas,
“and jumped up into it, and is lying down
on the buffalo.â€
‘The dog seems to have become attached
to you, Jonas,†said Mr. Edwards, “and I
presume that you have become somewhat
attached to him.’
“Yes, sir, very much indeed,†replied
Jonas. |
Mr. Edwards was silent a few minutes,
appearing lost in thought.
“T hardly know what to say about this
dog,†he continued, at length. “You did
very right to come and let me know about
him. I am afraid that some boys would
have kept him, without saying any thing
about it. Iam glad that you were honest.
I valued the dog very much, and would
have given a large sum to have recovered
him, when he was first lost. But I have got
another now, and don’t really need two.
Should you be disposed to buy him ?â€
“Yes, sir,â€â€™ said Jonas, “if I could. But I
haven’t got but a dollar at my command,
and I suppose he is worth more than that.â€
Jonas had a dollar of his own. Mr. Hol-
70 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
iday had given it to him when he left his
house, thinking it probable that he would
want to buy something for himself. Jonas
had taken this money with him when he
left the farmer’s, intending to expend a part
of it in the market town; but he did not see
any thing that he really wanted, and so the
money was in his pocket now.
‘‘Why, yes,†said Mr. Edwards, “I gave
a great deal more forhim than that. Haven't
you any more money with you?â€
*‘ Not of my own,†said Jonas.
“T suppose you got some for your prod-
uce.â€
“Yes, sir,†said Jonas ; ‘‘ but it belongs to
the farmer that I work with.â€
“ And don’t you think that he would be
willing to have you pay a part of it for the
dog >â€
“‘[T don’t know, sir,†said Jonas. “I know
he likes the dog very much, but I hee no
authority to buy him with his money.â€
If Jonas had been willing to have used his
employer’s money without authority, Mr.
Edwards would not have taken it. He
made the inquiry to see whether Jonas was
trustworthy.
DOG LOST. 71
After a few minutes’ pause, Mr. Edwards
resumed the conversation, as follows : —
“Well, Jonas,†said he, “I have been
thinking of this a little, and have concluded
to let you keep the dog for me a little while, —
that is, if he is willing to go with you. But
remember he is my property still, and I shall
have a right to call for him, whenever I
choose, and you must give him up to me.â€
“Yes, sir,†said Jonas, “I will. And I
wish that you would not agree to sell him to
any body else, without letting me know.â€
“Well,†replied Mr. Edwards, “I will not.
So you may take him, and keep him till I
send for him, —that is, provided he will go
with you of his own accord. I can’t drive
him away from his old home.â€
Jonas thanked Mr. Edwards, and rose to
go. Mr. Edwards took his hat, and followed
him to the door, to see whether the dog
would go willingly. When he was upon the
step, he called him.
“Ney,†said he, ‘“ Ney.â€
Ney looked up, and, in a moment after
wards, jumped out of the sleigh, and came
running up to the door.
“Now,†continued Mr. Edwards, “if you
72 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
can call him back, while I am standing here,
it is pretty good proof that you have been
kind to him, and that he would like to go
with you.â€
So Jonas walked down towards the gate,
looking back, and calling, —
‘‘ Franco, Franco, Franco ! â€â€
The dog ran down towards him a little
way, and then stopped, looked back, and,
after a moment’s pause, he returned a few
steps towards his former master. He seemed
a little at a loss to know which to choose.
Jonas got into his sleigh.
Franco!†said he.
Franco looked at him, then at Mr. Ed-
wards, then at Jonas; and finally he went
back to the door, and began to lick his old
master’s hand.
Jonas turned his horses’ heads a little to-
wards the road, and moved them on a step.
“Come, Franco,†said he ; ‘“ Franco, come.�
Franco, hearing these words, and seeing
that Jonas was actually going, seemed to
come to a final decision. He leaped off the
Steps, and bounded down the road, through
the gate, and jumped up into Jonas’s sleigh.
Mr. Edwards continued to cal] him, but he
DOG LOST. 73
paid no attention to it. He curled down be-
fore Jonas a moment, then he raised himself
up a little, so as to look back towards the -
house ; but he showed no disposition to get
out again. Jonas put his hand upon his head,
and patted it gently as he drove away ; and,
when he found that Franco was really going
with him, he turned his head back, and said,
with a look of great satisfaction, —
‘“‘Good-by, sir. I’m very much obliged
to you.â€
‘““Good-by, Jonas. Take good care of
Ney.â€
‘Yes, sir,†said he, “I certainly will.â€
“You’re a good dog, Franco,†he con-
tinued, patting his head, “to come with me,
—very good dog, Franco, to choose the
coarse hay for a bed under the old General's
crib, rather than that good warm carpet, for
the sake of coming with me. I'll make you
a little house, Franco, —I certainly will, and
Yll put a carpet on the floor. I'll make it as
soon as I get home.â€
And Jonas did, the next evening after he
got home, make Franco a house, just big
enough for him; and he found an old piece
7
74, Jonas ON A FARM IN WINTER.
of carpet to put upon the floor. He put
Franco in; but the next morning he found
him in his old place under the General’s crib.
Franco liked that place better. The truth
was, it was rather warmer; and then, be-
sides, he liked the old Gonerii’s company.
SHU tees
All te iN
( vi tt >? iy
eee eee
75
CHAPTER V.
SIGNS OF A STORM.
One evening early in February, the farmer
told Jonas that his work, the next day, would
be to get out four or five bushels of corn and
grain, and go to mill. Accordingly, after he
had got through with his morning’s work of
taking care of thé stock, he took a half-bushel
measure, and several bags, and went into the
granary. ‘The granary was a small, square
building, with narrow boards and wide cracks
between them on the south side. The build-
ing itself was mounted on posts at: the four
corners, with flat stones upon the top of the
posts, for the corners to rest upon.
The open work upon the side was to let
the air in, to dry the corn; and the high posts
and the flat stones were to keep the mice
from getting in and eating it up.
Jonas put a short board across the top of
the half-bushel, and sat upon it. Then he
began taking the corn and shelling it off from
76 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
the cob, by rubbing it against the edge of the
board. As he sat thus at work, he occasion-
ally looked up, and he could see out ‘of the
open door of the granary, into the farm-yards.
It was a very pleasant morning. The sun
shone beautifully ; and now and then a drop
fell from the roof on the south side of the
barn. .The cattle were standing, basking in
the sun, in the barn-yard, and in the sheds,
where the sun could shine in upon them.
The whole area of the barn-yard was trod-
den smooth and hard by the footsteps of
the cattle; and broad and smooth paths had
been worn in every direction, about the house.
Behind the barn was a large sheep-yard, also
well worn with the footsteps of the sheep.
A great many sheep were there, — now and
then eating hay from a long rack, which ex-
tended across the yard.
When Jonas had shelled out the corn, he
carried the bags, and put them into the sleigh,
whick was generally used in going to mill.
Then he locked the granary, and put the key
away, and afterwards went to the barn, and
opened the great doors, which led in to the
barn floor. He climbed up a tall ladder toa
loft under the roof of the barn, and threw
SIGNS OF A STORM. 77
down some sheaves of wheat,—as many as
he thought would be necessary to produce
the quantity of grain which the farmer had
ordered. He then descended the ladder, and
got a flail, and began to thresh them out.
Standing, now, in a new position, he had a
different prospect before him. Beyond the
barn-yard he could see another larger yard
nearer the house, in which the snow had also
been beaten down by the going and coming
of teams, sleds, and all sorts of travel, for two
or three weeks, during which there had been
no new falls of snow. Upon one side of
this yard was an enormous heap of wood,
which Jonas and Oliver had been hauling
nearly all the winter. On the other side was
a quantity of timber, of all sizes and lengths,
which the farmer and Amos had been getting
out for the new barn. Some of it was hewed,
and some not; and several large pieces were
laid out upon the level surface of the yard,
and the farmer and Amos were sitting upon
them, working upon the frame. Amos was
boring holes with an auger, and the farmer
was cutting the holes thus made into a square
form with a chisel. Josey was there, too,
and Amelia. They were building a hcuse
7%
78 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
of the blocks which had been sawed off from
the ends of the timbers.
When, however, they heard the sound of
Jonas’s flail, they left their play, and came
along to the barn to see him. Josey came
into the barn; Amelia remained at the door.
‘‘ What are you doing, Jonas?†said J osey.
‘Threshing some wheat,†replied Jonas ;
‘‘but stand back, or I shall hit you with the
flail.â€
‘Are you going to mill?†said Josey.
“Yes, I or somebody else. Iam getting
a grist ready.â€
‘‘ Here comes uncle,†said Josey ; ‘I mean
to ask him to let me go.â€
The farmer came in, and told Jonas that
he expected that they were going to have a
snow-storm, and, therefore, as soon as his grist
was ready, he might harness a horse into the
sleigh, and drive directly to mill.
“Then,†said he, “ you may come directly
back, and not wait to have it ground ; for I
want you to go up to the woods this after-
noon, and bring down a load of small spruces,
which I cut for rafters. I want them down
before the road gets blocked up with
snow.â€
SIGNS OF A STORM. 79
The farmer had reflected that, about this
time in the winter, they were generally ex-
posed to long and driving snow-storms, by
which the roads were often blocked up. He
usually endeavored to get all out of the
woods which he had to get, early in the sea-
son, while the snow was not deep. He had
now got down all his wood, and all his tim-
ber, except one or two loads of rafters; and
he wished, therefore, to get those down, so
that, in case of a severe storm, he would not:
have to break out the road again.
Jonas accordingly despatched his prepara-
tions for going to mill, as rapidly as possible,
and soon was ready. In driving out, he
stopped opposite the place where the farmer
was at work upon his frame.
“ All ready, I believe, sir,†said Jonas.
“Very well,†said the farmer. ‘ The
pond road is a little the nearest, isn’t it?â€
“Yes, sir,†said Jonas. *
“And Josey wants to go with you; have
you any objection to take him?â€
‘No, sir,†said Jonas; “I should like very
much to have him go.â€
“Well, Josey, get your great-coat, and
come.†|
?
80 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
““Q, no, sir,†said Josey ; “I don’t need any
great-coat ; it isn’t cold.â€
“Very well, then; jump in.â€
Josey got in upon the top of the bags, and
Jonas drove on. After riding a short dis-
tance, they turned down by a road which led
to the pond, which was now covered with so
thick and solid a sheet of ice, that it was
safe travelling upon it, and it was according-
ly intersected with roads in every direction.
They rode down at a rapid trot to the ice,
followed by Franco, who was always glad to
go upon an expedition.
The road led them over, very nearly, the
same part of the pond that Jonas had navi-
gated in his boat, when he fitted a sail to
it, —though now the appearances were so
different all around, that one would hardly
have supposed the scene to have been the
same. There was the same level surface,
but it was now a solid field, white with
snow, instead of the undulating expanse
of water, of the deep-blue color reflected
from the sky. There were the same islands,
and promontories, and beaches; but the ver-
dure was gone, and the naked whiteness of
the beach seemed to have spread over the
SIGNS OF A STORM. 81
whole landscape. It was a very pleasant
ride, however. The road was level, though
very winding, as it passed around capes and
headlands, and now and then took a wide
circuit to avoid a breathing-hole. The sun
shone pleasantly, too. 7
“TI don’t see what signs there are of a
snow-storm,†said Josey.
“ Such a calm and pleasant day in Febru-
ary portends a storm,†said Jonas. “ Be-
sides, the wind, what there is, is north-east ;
and don’t you see that snow-bank off south ?â€
Josey looked in the direction in which
they were going, which was towards the
south-west, and he saw a long, white bank
of cloud, extending over that quarter of the
heavens.
“Ts that a snow-bank?â€â€™ asked Josey.
“It is a bank of snow-clouds, I suppose,â€
said Jonas. ‘They call it a snow-bank.â€
By the time that the boys reached the mill,
a hazy appearance had overspread the whole
sky. They took out the grist, and left it to
be ground, and then immediately got into
the sleigh again, and commenced their return.
Before they had gone far, the sky became
entirely overcast, and the distant hills to the
82 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
7
south-east were enveloped in what appeared
to be a kind of mist, but which was really
falling snow.
“How windy it is!’ said Josey.
‘““No,†said Jonas, “it is not much more
windy than it was when we came; but then
we were riding with it, and now we are
going against it. You feel cold, don’t you?â€
“Why, yes, a little,†said Josey, “now
the sun has gone, and the wind has come.â€
“Well, then,†said Jonas, “get down in
the bottom of the sleigh, and Til cover you
up with buffaloes.†'
So Josey crept down into the bottom of
the sleigh, and Jonas covered him up; and
he found his place very warm and com-
fortable. :
“How do you like your place?†said
Jonas.
“Very well,†said Josey, “only I can’t
see where we are going.â€
“Trust yourself to me,†said Jonas. “T’ll
drive you safely.â€
“T know it,†said Josey, “and I wish
you'd tell me, now and then, what you see.â€
Well,†replied Jonas, “I see a load of
hay coming along on the pond before us.â€
SIGNS OF A STORM. - 83
‘A large load ?†said Josey.
“Yes,†replied Jonas; “and now we're
going pretty near the round island. ‘There,
the load of hay is turning off by another
road. O, there is a sleigh behind it; it was
hid before. The sleigh is coming this way.â€
“T don't hear any bells,†said Josey. *
‘¢ We are too far off yet; you’ll hear them
presently.â€
Very soon Josey did hear the bells, They
came nearer and nearer, and at last jingled
by close to his ears. As soon as the sound
had gone by, he threw up the buffalo with
his arms, and looked out, saying to Jonas, —
“T guess they wondered what you had got
here, covered up with the buffalo, Jonas.â€
Jonas smiled, and Josey covered himself
up again. Not long after this, it began to
snow, and Jonas said that he could hardly
see the shore in some places.
‘‘ Suppose it should snow so fast,†said Jo-
sey, ‘that you could not see the land at all ;
then, if you should come to two roads, ene
could you tell whi
“Why, o pe ,†replied Jonas, “ would
be to let Pango trot on before us; and he’d
know the a
ee
84 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“Is Franco coming along with us?†said
Josey.
Yes,†said Jonas, “‘ he is close behind.â€
“Why don’t you call him Ney?†asked
Josey ; “that is his real name.â€
‘TI was uncertain which to call him for
some time,†said Jonas; “ but finally I con-
cluded to let him keep both names, and so
now he is Franco Ney.â€
“Well,†said Josey, “I think that is a
good plan.â€
A short time after this, Jonas turned up off
from the pond, and soon reached home.
85
CHAPTER VI.
THE RESCUE.
Jonas found, when he reached home, that
it was about dinner-time. 'The farmer said
that the storm was coming on sooner than
he had expected, and he believed that they
should have to leave the rafters where they
were. But Jonas said that he thought he
could get them without any difficulty, if the
farmer would let him take the oxen and sled.
The farmer, finding that Jonas was very
willing to go, notwithstanding the storm, said
that he should be very glad to have him try.
And Josey, he said, might accompany him
or not, just as he pleased.
“[ wouldn’t go, Jonas,†said Josey, “if I
were you. It is going to be a great storm.â€
He, however, walked along with Jonas to
the barn, to see him yoke the oxen. The
yard was covered with a thin coating of light
snow, which made the appearance of it very
different from what it had been when they
8
86 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
had left it. The cows and oxen stood out
still exposed, their backs whitened a little
with the fine flakes which had fallen upon
them. Jonas went to the shed, and brought
out the yoke.
“ Jonas,’â€â€™ said Josey, 1 wouldn’t go.â€
“No, I think it very likely that you
wouldn’t. You ‘are not a very, efficient
boy.â€
“ What is an eficient boy?†asked Josey.
“One that has energy and resolution
enough to go on and accomplish his object,
even if there are difficulties in the way.â€
“Ts that what you mean by being effi-
cient?†said Josey.
“Yes ;—a boy that hasn’t some efficiency,
isn’t good for much.â€
As he said this, Jonas had got one of the
oxen yoked. He then went to bring up the
other.
When the other ox was up in his place,
Jonas raised the end of the yoke, and put it
over his neck.
“You see,†continued he, “‘ your uncle
wants all those rafters got down. It will be
a little harder getting them, in the storm;
but I care nothing for that. It will bea great
THE RESCUE. 87
satisfaction to him to have them all safe down
here before it drifts. He doesn’t require
me to go; but if I go voluntarily and bring
them down, don’t you think that, to-morrow
morning, when he finds two feet of snow on
the ground, he’ll be glad to think that all his
rafters are safe in the yard?†|
“Why, yes,†said Josey. “I’ve a great
mind to go with you.â€
“ Do just as you please,â€â€™ said Jonas.
“ Well, do you want me to go?â€
‘Yes, I should like your company very
well; and, besides, perhaps you can help
me.â€â€™
“Well,†said Josey, ‘I'll go.â€
He accordingly followed Jonas as he drove
the oxen along to the sled. Jonas held up
the tongue, while Josey backed the oxen, so
that he could enter the end of the tongue
into the ring attached to the lower side of
the yoke. He then put the iron pin in, and
all was ready,
Jonas drove the oxen along, till he came
to the great gate in the back yard, and then
he stopped to go and get some chains. ‘The
chains he fastened to the stakes, which were
in the sides of the sled. Then he opened
88 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
the great gate, and the oxen went through ;
after which he seated himself upon the sled
by the side of Josey, and so they rode along
up into the woods.
The storm increased, though very slowly.
The road into the woods, which had become
well worn, was now beginning to be covered,
here and there, with little white patches,
wherever new snow, driven along by the
wind, found places where it could lodge.
At length, however, they came to the woods ;
and there they were sheltered from the wind,
and the snow fell more equally. Josey had
found it quite cold riding in the open ground,
for the wind was against them; but under
the shelter of the trees he found it quite warm
and comfortable.
The forest appeared very silent and soli-
tary. It is true they could hear the moaning
of the wind upon the tops of the trees, but
there was no sound of life, and no motion
but that of the fine flakes descending throngh
the air in a gentle shower. ‘The whole sur-
face of the ground, and every thing lying
upon it, was covered with the snow ; for the
branches, and the stumps, and the stems
trimmed up for timber, and the places where
THE RESCUE. 89
the old snow had been trampled down by the
oxen and by the woodcutters, were now all
whitened over again and concealed.
“Who would think,†said Jonas, ‘that
there could be any thing alive here?â€
“Ts there any thing?†said Josey.
“Yes, thousands of animals, all covered
up in the snow,—mice in the Sround, and
squirrels in the hollow logs, and millions of
insects, frozen up in the bark of the dead
trees.â€
‘And they'll be covered up deeper before
morning,†said Josey.
“Ves,†said Jonas, “and so would our
rafters, if we didn’t get them out. We
could not have found half of them, if we had
left them till after this storm.â€
The rafters were lying around upon the
old snow, wherever small trees, from which
they had been formed, had fallen. They
could be distinguished very plainly now, al-
though covered with an inch of snow.
Jonas and Josey immediately went to
work, getting them together, and placing
them upon the sled. When they had been
at work in this way for some time, Jonas
said, —
g *
90 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“We shall not get half of them, at this
load.â€
“Then what shall you do?†said Josey.
“O, come up again, and get the rest.â€
“ But then it will be dark before you get -
home.â€
‘That will be no matter,†said Jonas.
“Only you'll get lost, and buried up in
the snow.â€
“No,†said Jonas; “there might be some
danger to-morrow evening, after it shall have
been snowing four and twenty hours; but
not to-night. The snow will not be more
than a foot deep at midnight.â€
When they had got as many of the rafters
upon the sled as Jonas thought the oxen
could conveniently draw, he secured the load
by the chains, and collected the rest of the
sticks together a little, on the ground. ‘Then
he told Josey to climb up to the top of the
load and ride. He said that he would walk
along by the side of the oxen. Josey found
it more comfortable going back, than it was
coming up, for the wind was now behind
him, and the snow did not drive into his
face. Jonas walked along in the snow,
which was now nearly ankle deep, and after
THE RESCUE. 9]
they had got out of the woods, there were
some places where it had drifted much
deeper.
“Do you suppose that uncle has got his
frame done?’ said Josey.
“TI presume he has left it, if he hasn’t
finished it,†said Jonas.
“Why? Why couldn’t he stay out in
the storm to work, as well as we?â€
“ Because,†said Jonas, “the snow would
wet his tools, and fill wp his mortises, and so
trouble him a great deal more than it does
us. You can’t do carpenter’s work out of
doors in a snow-storm.â€â€™
“Do you mean to go after the other load?â€
asked Josey. 7
“Yes,†replied Jonas.
The boys found, when they reached the
yard, that it was as Jonas had predicted.
The farmer and Amos had left their work
and gone in. 'They were in the shop grind-
ing their tools. 'The farmer asked Jonas if
he had got all the rafters.
“No, sir,†sad Jonas; “there is another
load.â€
“ Well, we’lllet them go,†said the farmer.
“I’m very glad you’ve got one load down.â€
92 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“T think, sir,†said Jonas, ‘‘if you have no
objection, ’'d: better go and get the rest. I
know just where they are, and I can get them
all down here before night.â€
“You won’t have time to get down before
it will be dark,’’ said the farmer.
“Just as you think best, sir,†said Jonas,
“but I think I can get out of the woods be-
fore dark ; and it is of no consequence about
the rest of the way.â€
‘Very well,†said the farmer, “ you may
go. Don’t you want Amos to go with you?â€
‘‘No, sir, it isn’t necessary.â€
‘No, sir,†said Josey, “I can go with him.â€
So Jonas threw off his load, and then
turned his team about, and once more set
out for the woods. He and Josey sat upon
the sled, talking by the way,—the storm
continuing without much change. The
snow gradually increased in depth, but the
oxen walked along without difficulty through
it. Sometimes they came to a drift where
the snow was so deep as to come in a little
upon the bars, where the boys were sitting ;
but in general the sled runners glided slang
through it very smoothly.
The woods appeared still more sombre and
THE RESCUE. 93
sotitary than they had done before. The
new snow was deeper, and it was falling
faster; and, besides, as it was now nearly
sundown, there was only a gloomy sort of
twilight, under the trees. Jonas and Josey
loaded the sled as fast as they could. They
put on the last of the rafters, which Jonas
had collected, with great satisfaction. Josey,
especially, began to be in haste to set out on
his return.
“Now,†said Jonas, “I'll look around a hit-
tle, just to see that there are none left behind.â€
“O, no, I wouldn’t,†said Josey ; “let us
go. We've got them all, I know.â€
“J want to be sure,†said Jonas, “and
make thorough work of it.â€
So saying, he began wading about in the
snow, to see if he could find any more rafters.
He, however, soon satisfied himself that they
were all upon the sled. He then secured his
load carefully, with the chains, and they set
out upon their return, as before.
It grew dark rapidly, and the wind and
storm increased. When they came out of
the woods, they found that the air was very
thick with the falling flakes, and the drifts
had begun to be quite large, so that some-
94 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
times, in plunging through them, the snow
would bank up quite high, before the sled,
against the ends of the rafters. Jonas said
that, if they had been two hours later, they
could not have got along.
“You said that the snow wouldn’t be a
foot deep by midnight,†said Josey.
“Tt is coming faster than I thought it
would,†said Jonas. “It is almost a foot
deep now.â€
The road by which the boys were advan-
cing, led along the bank of the brook, until
it reached nearly to the shore of the pond,
and then it turned off, and went towards the
house, at a little distance from the shore.
When they reached this part of the road, the
storm, which here swept down across the pond.
beat upon them with unusual fury. The wind
howled ; the snow was driven through the air,
and seemed to scud along the ground with
zreat violence ; and the drifts, running diago-
nally across the road, were once or twice so
deep, that the oxen could hardly get the load
through. It was now almost dark, too, and
all the traces of the road were obliterated, —
though Jonas knew, by the land and fences,
how to go.
THE RESCUE. 95
Just at this time, when the wind seemed
to lull for an instant, Jonas thought he heard
acry. He stopped his oxen to listen.
“No,†said Josey, “I don’t believe it is
any thing; let us go on.â€
In fact, Josey was afraid, and wanted to
get home as soon as he could.
“ Wait aminute,†said Jonas. He listened
again, and in a moment he heard the cry
again. It seemed to be a cry of distress, but
he could not distinguish any words.
“It is somebody off upon the pond,†said
Jonas.
“Ts the pond out that way? †asked Josey.
“Yes,†said Jonas, ‘and I verily believe
somebody is out on it, and has lost his
way.â€
“Well,†said Josey, ‘let us go home as
fast as we can, and tell uncle.â€
“No,†said Jonas, ‘“ that won’t do.â€
Jonas turned in the direction from which
the sound appeared to come, and, putting his
hands up to his mouth in the shape of a
speaking-trumpet, he called out, as loud as he
could call, —
“‘ Hal —loo!†3
He listened after he had thus called, but
96 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
there was no answer. Ina few minutes, the
ery which he had heard first was repeated, in
the same tone as before.
“They don’t hear me,â€â€™ said Jonas.
“Hal —loo!†cried out Josey, as loud as
he could call.
There was no answer; but, in a few sec-
onds afterwards, the cry was repeated, as at
first.
“You see,†said Jonas, “that the wind
blows this way, and they can’t hearus. We
must go out after them.â€
Josey tried to dissuade Jonas from this
plan ; but Jonas said he must go, and that,
as they had oxen with them, there would
be no danger. ‘ First,’’ said he, ‘‘ we must
throw off our load.â€
So he and Josey went to work, and threw
off the rafters, as fast as they could. Jonas
reserved four or five rafters, which he left
upon the sled. ‘Then he turned the oxen in
the direction from which the cry had come.
They continued to hear it at moderate in-
tervals.
They descended gradually a short distance
across the field, and then they came to the
shore of the pond. Here Jonas took off one
THE RESCUE. 97
of his rafters, and laid it upon the shore. with
one end raised up out of the snow.
‘What is that for?†said Josey.
“'To show us the way back to our road,â€
said Jonas. “I place it so that it points
right back, — the way we came.â€
“We can tell by our tracks,†said Josey.
“No,†said Jonas; “our tracks will all be
covered up before we come back.â€
Jonas then drove down upon the pond,
guiding his oxen in the direction of the cry.
He kept Josey upon the sled, so as not to ex-
haust his strength. He rode himself, too, as
much as he could; but he was obliged to
jump off very frequently, to keep the oxen in
aright direction. He stopped occasionally to
put down a rafter, placing it so that its length
should be in the line of his road, and taking
care to sink one end into the snow, so as to
leave the other out as far as possible, to pre-
vent its being all buried up before they
should return. Every now and then, too, he
would answer the ery, as loud as he could
call.
At last, after they had toiled along in this
way for some time, Jonas thought that he
succeeded in making the travellers hear;
9
98 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
for, immediately after his “call, he would
hear a calling from them, following it, and
speaking in a different way, though Jonas
could not understand what was said. He
kept pressing forward steadily, and, before
long, he found that the travellers were silent,
excepting immediately after he called to
them, — when there was a sound as if in-
tended for a response, though Jonas could
not tell what was said.
““ We shall get to them, Josey,†said he.
‘Who do you suppose it is?†said Josey.
“J don’t know; very probably some trav-
ellers lost upon the pond.â€
Jonas was right in his conjecture: as they
came nearer and nearer, the sounds became
more distinct.
“ Hal—loo! †vociferated Jonas.
‘‘Hal—loo!’? was the answer. “ Can—
you —come —and — help — us?â€
“ Ay, ay,†said Jonas; “ we’re coming.â€
“ Ay, ay,†shouted Josey, in his loudest
voice, which, being more shrill than that of
Jonas, was perhaps heard farther.
Still nothing was to be seen. Besides be-
ing dark, the atmosphere was thick with
snow. So it was not until they got very
THE RESCUE. 99
near to the travellers, that they could see
them at all. They saw at last, however,
some dark-looking object before them. On
coming up to it, they found that it was a
horse and sleigh. The horse was in a very
deep snow-drift, and was half lying down.
There was a woman in the sleigh, with a
small child in her arms, and a boy, about
as large as Josey, standing at the horse’s
head.
‘QO, I am so glad you have got some oxen,
sir!’? said the woman. ‘ We couldn’t have
got out without oxen.â€
“TJ don’t see how the snow happens to be
so deep just here.â€
“Why, it’s that island,†said the woman ;
“T suppose there is an island off there. I
told Isaiah it would be drifted under this
island; and now the horse is all beat out;
and, besides, we don’t know the way.â€
“Well,†said Jonas, “I'll hook the oxen
on, and we'll soon get you to the land.
Isaiah, you take your horse out of the
sleigh.â€
So Isaiah went to work to unhook the
traces and the hold-backs, in order to get the
horse free from the sleigh.
190 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“Tl get out,†said the woman.
“No,†said Jonas; “ you sit still, and keep
your child warm.â€
As soon as Isaiah had taken the horse out,
Jonas told him to lead him around behind
the sleigh, while he turned the shafts over
back against the dasher, and then he brought
the oxen up in front of the sleigh. He first,
however, drove the oxen out of the road
with the sled, so as to leave that where it
would not be in the way. Then he took
two chains from the sled, and attached the
oxen, by means of them, to the forward part
of the sleigh. When all was ready, he put
Josey in with the woman, and let Isaiah lead
his horse behind. He then started the oxen.
“ Are you going to leave the sled here?â€
said Josey.
“Yes,†said Jonas, ‘‘we can come and
get it after the storm is over.â€
The oxen drew the sleigh along very
easily. ‘The snow was quite deep for a little
distance, and then it became less so; but it
was very dark, and it was difficult for Jonas
to follow his track. The snow blew across
it with great violence, and was fast filling
it up.
THE RESCUE. 101
However, Jonas soon came to his first
rafter, and this encouraged him. It was a
good deal covered with snow, but the end
was out, and the direction of it showed him
which way to go, in order to find the next
one. After he had passed this guide, the
path was no more to be distinguished. He
went on, however, as nearly as he could in
the direction indicated by the rafter; and,
after going the proper distance, he began to
look out before him for the second. He
began to be a little anxious lest he had
missed it, when he observed something dark
in the snow, at a little distance on the right.
He went to it, and found that it was the
rafter. |
Thus he was upon his track again ; but his
having so narrowly escaped missing it, made
him afraid that he should not be able to fol-
low the train very far. His fears proved well
grounded. All his efforts to discover the
third rafter were entirely unavailing.
“Tis of no consequence,†said Jonas;
“we can’t be far from the shore. I'll keep
straight on, and we shall strike the land
somewhere, not far from the house.â€
But it is much easier to get bewildered in
Q *
102 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
a storm than Jonas had supposed. ‘The
darkness, the obscurity produced by the fall-
ing snow, the perfect and unvarying levei
of the surface, in every direction the same,
and the agitation of mind which even the
most resolute must experience in such a sit-
uation, all conspired to make it difficult, in a
case like this, to find the way. Jonas drove
on in the direction which he thought would
have led to the shore ; but, after going amply
far enough to reach it, no shore was to be
seen. ‘The fact was, that he had insensibly
deviated just so far from his course, as to be
going along parallel with the shore, instead
of in the direction towards it. Jonas began
to be somewhat concerned, and Josey was in
a state of great anxiety and fear.
He rose up in the sleigh, and attempted
to look around; and his fear was suddenly
changed into terror, at seeing a large black
animal, like a bear, coming furiously up be-
hind them, bounding over the snow. Josey
screamed aloud.
‘¢ What is the matter?†said the woman.
“ Why, Franco! Franco!†said Jonas,
“how could you get here?â€
It was Franco, true enough. He came
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THE RESCUE. 105
swiftly along, leaping and staggering through
the deep snow; and he seemed delighted to
have found Jonas and his party at last. Jo-
nas patted his head. Both Jonas and F'ranco
were overjoyed to see each other.
Jonas patted Franco's head and praised
him, while the dog wagged his tail, whisked
about, and shook the snow off from his back
and sides.
‘What dog is that?†said the woman.
“This is Franco,†said Jonas. “ Franco
Ney is his name. Now we shall have no
trouble in getting out.â€
Franco turned off, short, from the road in
which Jonas was going. He knew by in-
stinct which way the shore lay from them.
Jonas at first hesitated about following him.
‘That can’t be the way, Franco,†said he.
But Franco, after plunging on a few steps,
looked round and whined. Then he came
back towards Jonas again a few steps, look-
ing him full in the face, and then whisked
about again, and went on farther than before,
—and then stopped and looked back, as if
to see whether Jonas was going to follow
him. Jonas stood just in advance of the
oxen, hesitating.
106 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“That must be the way,†said Jonas.
“Franco knows.â€
“No, that isn’t the way,†said the woman ;
“the dog don’t know any thing about °it.
We must go straight forward.â€
No,†said Jonas, “it will be safest to
follow Franco.†And so saying, he began to
turn his oxen in the direction indicated by
Franco.
The woman remonstrated against this with
great earnestness. She said that they should
only get entirely lost, for he was leading them
altogether out of their way. But Jonas con-
sidered that the responsibility properly be-
longed to him, and that he must act accord-
ing to his own discretion. So he pushed
forward steadily after Franco.
But his progress was now interrupted by
hearing another loud call behind him, back
upon the pond.
“; What’s that?’ said Josey.
“ Somebody calling,†said Jonas.
‘More travellers lost,’ said the woman. —
“O dear me!â€
He listened again, and heard the calls more
distinctly. He thought he could distinguish
his own name. He answered the call, and
THE RESCUE. 107
was himself answered in return by men’s
voices, which now seemed more distinct and
nearer.
‘“T know now who it is,†said Jonas.
“It is your uncle and Amos, coming out
after us. Franco was with them.â€
Jonas was right. In a few minutes, the
farmer and Amos came up, and they were
exceedingly surprised when they saw Jonas
with his oxen, drawing a sleigh, with a wo-
man in it, off the pond, instead of a sled load
of rafters from the woods.
‘ Jonas,†said he with astonishment, “how
came you here? â€
“IT came to help Isaiah get off the pond,â€
said Jonas. “But how did you find out
where we were?â€
“Franco guided us,†said the farmer.
“He followed the road along some time, and
then he wanted to turn off suddenly towards
the pond. We wouldn’t follow him for some -
time ; but he would go that way, and no other.
When he came to the shore of the pond, we
found your rafter laid there, and that made
us think you must have gone upon the ice,
but we couldn’t imagine what for. At last,
ee ee
108 JONAS ON A FARM IN’ WINTER.
we found where you had left the sled, and
then we began to halloo to you.â€
“ But, uncle,†said Josey, “ didn’t you see
our heap of rafters, by the road where we
turned off?â€
“No,†said his uncle.
“ We put a load there.â€
“Then they must have got pretty well
covered up,†said he, “ for we didn’t observe
them.â€
The whole party followed Franco, who
led them out to the shore the shortest way.
They took Isaiah and his mother to the
house, and gave them some stpper, and let
them stay there that night. The next morn-
ing, when Jonas got up, he found that it was
clearing away ; and when, after breakfast, he
looked out upon the pond, to see if he could
see any thing of his sled, he observed, away
out half a mile from shore, two short rows of
stakes, sticking up in the snow, not far from
an island. 'The body of the sled was wholly
buried up and concealed from view.
109
CHAPTER VII.
A FIRE.
Tue last of February drew nigh, which
was the time fixed upon for Josey to go
home. He had remained with his uncle
much longer than his father had at first in-
tended ; but now they wanted him to return,
before the roads broke up in the spring.
The evening before Josey was to go, the
farmer was sitting by the fire, when Jonas
came in from the barn.
“Jonas,†said the farmer, “1 have got to
write a letter to my brother, to send by Josey
to-morrow ; why won’t you take a sheet of
paper and write for me, and I'll tell you what
to say. Youare rather handier with the pen
than I am.â€
Jonas accordingly brought a sheet of paper
and a pen and ink, and took his place at a
table at the back side of the room, and the
farmer dictated to him as follows : —
10
110 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
‘Dear Brother,
‘‘T take this opportunity to inform you
that we are all alive and well, and 1 hope
that you may be the same. This will be
handed to you by Josey, who leaves us to-
morrow, according to your orders. We have
been very glad to have him with us, though
he hasn’t had opportunity to learn much.
However, I suppose he’ll fetch up again in
his learning, when he gets home. He has
behaved pretty fair on the whole, as boys go.
He will make a smart man, I’ve no doubt,
though he don’t seem to take much to farm-
ing.
‘We hope to have you, and your wife and
children, come and pay us a visit this coming
summer, — say in raspberry time, which will
be just after haying.â€
“There,†said the farmer, “now fold it
up, and write my brother’s name on the
back, and to-morrow morning I'll look it
over, and sign my name to it.â€
Jonas accordingly folded the letter up, and
wrote upon the back, Joseph Jones, E'sq.,
Bristol. When it was done, he laid it on
the table.
A FIRE. 111
Amos came and took it up. “Jonas,â€
said he, “‘I wish I could write as well as
that.â€
The farmer had a daughter whose name
was Isabella. She was about eighteen years
old. She was at this time spinning in a
corner of the room, near a window. She
came forward to look at the letter.
“Yes, Jonas,’ said she, “ you write beau-
tifully. I wish you’d teach me to write like
that.â€
“ Very well,†said Jonas, ‘that I can do.â€
‘How can you do it?†said Isabella.
“Why, we can have an evening school,
these long evenings,†replied Jonas. ‘You
get through your spinning in time to have
half an hour for school before bed-time.â€
“Half an hour wouldn’t be enough,†said
Amos.
“OQ, yes,†replied Jonas; “half an hour
every day will amount to a great deal in
three months.†,
“Yes,†said the farmer, “that’s a very
good plan; you shall have an evening school,
and Jonas shall teach you;—an excellent
plan.â€
s ‘What shall we study?†said Isabella.
112 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“Whatever you want to learn,†replied
Jonas. ‘You say you want to learn to
write ; that will do for one thing.â€
‘And L want to learn more arithmetic,â€
said Amos.
“Very well,†said Jonas. ‘‘ We'll have
an evening school, half an hour every even-
ing, beginning at eight o’clock. Have you
got any school-books in the house, Isabella?â€
Isabella said there were some on a shelf
up stairs.
‘‘ Well,†said Jonas, ‘‘ bring them to me,
and I’ll look over them, and form a plan.â€
Isabella brought Jonas the school-books,
and he looked them over, but said nothing
then about his plan. He reflected upon the
subject until the next day, because he did not
wish to propose any thing to them, until it
was well matured.
The next evening, at eight o'clock, Isabella
put up her spinning, and took a seat by the
fire, to hear Jonas’s plan. Amos sat by a
table at the back side of the room. The
farmer’s wife was sitting upon the settle,
knitting; and the farmer himself was asleep
in his arm-chair, at the opposite corner.
“Now,†said Jonas, “I like the plan of
A FIRE. 113
having an evening school, and I am willing
to be either teacher or pupil; only, if I am
teacher, I must direct, and you must both do
as I say.â€
“No,†said Isabella, “you mustn’t direct
entirely ; we'll talk over the plans, all to-
gether, and then do as we all agree.â€
“No,†said Jonas, “I have no idea of
having all school-time spent in talking. I’m
perfectly willing that either of you should be
teacher, and I’ll obey. I'll set copies, or do
any thing else you please, only I won’t have
any responsibility about the arrangements.
Or, if you wish, I’m willing to be teacher ;
but then, in that case, I must direct every
thing, just as I think is best,—and you
must do just as I say.â€
‘‘ Well,†said Isabella, “what are your
orders? We'll obey.â€
Amos and Oliver also agreed that they
would obey his directions. Jonas then con-
sented to take the station of teacher, and he
proceeded to give his directions.
‘“‘T have been looking at the books,’ said
he, “and I find we haven’t got but one of
each kind.â€
10*
114 Jonas ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“Then we can’t have any classes in our
school,†said Oliver.
“Yes we can,†said Jonas. ‘ The first
evening, Amos may take the arithmetic and
the slate, and cipher, while Isabella writes,
and Oliver studies a good long spelling lesson.
Then, the second evening, Amos shall study
the spelling lesson, and Isabella cipher, and
Oliver write.â€
“But I don’t want to cipher,†said Isa-
bella. “I don’t like arithmetic; I never
could understand it.â€
“You promised to obey my orders,†said
Jonas.
“ Well,†said Isabella, “Tl try; but I
know I can’t do the sums.â€
“Then, the third evening,†said Jonas,
‘Isabella shall study the spelling lesson,
Oliver the arithmetic, and Amos take the
writing-book.â€â€™
“ What, ain’t you going to have but one
writing-book ?â€
“No,†said Jonas; “one is enough; be-
cause you won’t all write the same evening.
So you can write one page, Oliver another,
and Amos the third.â€
A FIRE. 115
** No,â€â€™ said Isabella; ‘I don’t like that. I
want every scholar to have his own book.â€
“Tf you'll be the teacher,†said Jonas,
“vou can have it so.â€â€™
‘‘ But I want to have it so, and you be the
teacher,’’ said Isabella.
“No,†said Jonas; ‘‘if I have the responsi-
bility of teacher, I must have the power too.â€
“Well,†said Isabella, “I suppose we had
better submit.â€
‘But what’s the reason, Jonas,’’ said Oli-
ver, “ that you ain’t willing that we should
all have writing-books of our own?â€
‘‘There are two or three reasons,†said
Jonas. ‘But it is very poor policy for a
schoolmaster to spend his time in convin-
cing his scholars that his regulations are
good. He must make them obey, and let
them see that the regulations turn out to be
good in the end.â€
‘‘But it seems to me, you’ve grown arbi-
trary all at once,†said Amos, with a
smile.
‘‘- Yes,†said Jonas, “I’m always arbitrary
when I’m in command; if you mean, by ar-
bitrary, determined to have my own way.
I won’t usurp any power; but, if you put
116 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
it upon me, I shall use it, you may depend
upon it.â€
Jonas had two good reasons why he
wanted to have only one writing-book for
all his scholars. One was, that he thought it
uncertain how long their school plan would
last, and he did not want to trouble the farm-
er to look up some paper, and then make a pa-
rade of preparing so many writing-books ; and
then, perhaps, the whole plan might be aban-
doned, when they had written four or five
pages in each. And, therefore, as he found
one old writing-book of Oliver’s, half full,
he determined to make the blank leaves of
that answer for all.
But he had another reason still. He
thought that, if all his scholars should write,
in succession, in the same book, their writing
would come into such close juxtaposition
and comparison, that each one would be
stimulated to write with greater attention
and care; as each one would wish his or her
own page to look as neatly written as the
rest. He knew that Isabella, when it came
to her turn to write, would naturally, with-
out any thing being said, look at Amos’s work
on the page before, and that she would ob-
A FIRE. 117
serve its excellences and its faults, and that
her page would probably be written better,
in consequence of her criticism upon his.
Thus, though Jonas had good reasons, he
chose not to give them. He preferred, if he
was going to be teacher, that they should
not be in the habit of expecting him to give
reasons for all his directions. So he simply
expressed his decision upon the subject, by
saying, —
“You may do just as you please about
making me teacher; but, if you put me
into the office, you must expect to have to
obey.â€
“'That’s right, Jonas,†said the farmer’s
wife: “I am glad to see you make ’em
mind.†)
It was settled, without any further discus-
sion, that Jonas’s plan in regard to the writing
should be adopted, and that his scholars
would obey his directions in other things,
whatever they might be. Jonas then pro-
ceeded as follows: —
‘Now, you see that, if we go on so three
evenings, you will all have got three lessons,
and the fourth evening we will have for re-
citation. I will hear you spell, and examine
118 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
your writing, and see if your sums are
done right.â€
Jonas’s exposition of the plan of his school
was here interrupted by the farmer’s wife,
who, as she sat at the end of the settle to-
wards the fire, had her face somewhat turned
towards the window, and she saw a light at
a distance near the horizon.
“ What light is that?†said she.
Jonas and all his school rose, and went to
the window to see.
The window looked towards the pond.
They looked off across a sort of bay, beyond
which there was a long point of land, — the
one which the boys had had to sail around
when they went to mill. Just over this land,
and near the extremity of it, a light was to
be seen, as if from a fire, beyond and behind
the land.
“'That’s exactly in the direction of the
village,Չۉ۪ said Amos.
‘Tt is a house on fire, I know,†said Oli-
ver, — ‘‘ or a store.â€â€™
‘‘It looks like a fire, certainly,’â€â€™ said Jonas.
“‘ Yes,†said the farmer’s wife ; ‘‘ and you
must go, boys, and help put it out.â€
‘Tt is several miles off,’’ said Amos.
A FIRE. 119
“Yes, but put Kate into the light sleigh,
and she’ll carry you there over the pond in
twenty minutes. — Here, husband, husband,â€
she continued, calling to the farmer, who was
still asleep in his chair, “‘ here’s a fire.â€
The farmer opened his eyes, and sat up-
right in his chair, and asked what was the
matter.
“ Here’s a fire,†she repeated, “over in
the village ; hadn’t the boys better go and
put it out?â€
The farmer rose, walked very deliberately
to the window, looked a minute at the light,
and then said, —
‘‘Tt’s nothing but the moon.â€
“The moon ?—no, it can’t be the moon,
husband,†said she. ‘The moon don’t rise
there.â€
“ Yes,†said the farmer, “ that’s just about
the place.â€
‘‘ Besides,†said she, “it isn’t time for the
moon to rise. It don’t rise now till mid-
night.â€
He turned away, and walked slowly across
the room, to where the almanac was hang-
ing. He seemed very sleepy. He turned
over the leaves, and then said, ‘‘ Moon rises
120 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
—eight hours and fifty minutes; that is, —
let’s see, — ten minutes before nine.â€
‘“ Well,†a his wife, “and ’tisn’t much
past eight now.’
‘It’s the moon, you may asouih � said the
farmer; ‘perhaps our time is a little out.â€
So he returned to the chair, sat down in it,
and put his feet out towards the fire.
“ Well,†said his wife, “we shall know
pretty soon ; for, if it is the moon, it will soon
rise higher.â€
So they all stood a few minutes, and
watched the light. It seemed to enlarge a
little, and to grow somewhat brighter; but it
did not move from its place.
“It certainly must be a fire,†said the farm-
er’s wife again; “and I wish, husband, that
you'd let the boys take Kate in the sleigh,
and go along the pond and see.â€
“ve no objection,†said the farmer, “if
they’ve a mind to take that trouble; but
they'll find nothing but the moon, they may
depend.â€
“ Let’s go,†said Amos.
“Very well,†said Jonas; ‘I’m ready.â€
“We'll go too, boys,†said the farmer’s
wife, “Isabella and I. You can put in two
A FIRE. 121
seats. There are no hills, and Kate will
take us all along like a bird. I never saw a
fire in my life.â€
The boys hastened to the barn, and got
Kate out of the stall. Franco, who knew
that something extraordinary must have taken
place, though he could not tell what, came
out from his place, leaped about, and indi-
cated, by his actions, that, wherever they
were going, he meant to go too.
The sleigh was soon harnessed. They
drove up to the door, and found Isabella and
her mother all ready. They took their places
upon the back seat, while Amos and Jonas
sat upon another seat, which they had placed
in, before. Oliver came running with a
bucket, which he put in under the forward
seat, and then he jumped on behind, standing
upon the end of the runner, and clinging to
the corner of the sleigh, close to Isabella’s
shoulder.
Kate set off at a rapid trot down the road,
which led to the pond. ‘The sleigh: went
very easily, for the road was smooth. ‘There
had been rain and thaws lately, and cold
weather after them, so that the surface of the
road had melted, and then become frozen
Ll
122 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
again; and this made it icy. They fcund
the ice of the pond in the same state. The
rain and the thaws had melted the snow,
upon the top of the ice, and made it a sheet
of water. Then this had frozen again, so
that now the surface of the pond was almost
every where hard and smooth; and when
they came down upon it, and turned to go
across the bay, the horse being at his full
speed, the sleigh swept round sideways over
the ice, in a great circle, and made the
farmer’s wife very much afraid that she
should be upset. It seemed as if the sleigh
was trying to get before the horse.
However, Amos, who was driving, con-
trived to get the horse ahead again, and then
they went on with great speed. It was a
mile across to the end of the point of land;
but Kate carried them over this space in a
very few minutes. As they drew near to
the point, they watched the light. It did not
rise at all.
“Jt cannot be the moon,†said Jonas, “ for
it is now full a quarter of an hour since we
first saw it.â€
“Yes,†said the farmer’s wife, “ I knew it
couldn’t be the moon.†|
A FIRE. 123
Just at this moment, the sleigh came
around the point with great speed, and
brought into view a very bright but distant
fire, far before them.
‘Tt is a fire!†they all exclaimed.
‘‘ But it isn’t in the direction of the village,â€
said Jonas.
“It must be some farm-house,†said the
farmer’s wife, “ on the shore.â€
“No,†said Jonas, “I think it is on the
ice.�
It very soon became evident that the fire
was upon the ice. It was plainly a large
fire, though the distance made it look rather
small. It was very bright, and it flashed up
high ; and a cloud of illuminated smoke arose
from it, and floated off to the northward.
The party in the sleigh could soon perceive,
also, a number of small, bright spots near it,
which seemed to be in motion about the fire.
They looked like the moons about the planet
Jupiter, seen through a telescope.
‘“‘[ wonder what it is,†said Isabella. |
“I presume,†said Jonas, “that the-boys
are out skating, and this is a fire on the ice,
which they have built.â€
124 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“ And are those the boys moving about ?â€
asked Oliver.
“ Yes,†said Jonas. ‘ When they are near
the fire, the light shines upon their faces.â€
As they rode on, it became gradually more
and more evident that Jonas was right.
The forms of the skaters, as they stood before
the fire, or came wheeling up to it, became
more and more distinct, and, in fact, the ring-
ing sound of the skates soon became audible.
The horse, in the mean time, went on, with
great speed, directly towards the fire. When
they arrived near the fire, the skaters came
around them in great numbers, wondering
who could have come. Jonas asked them
where they got the wood to build their fire.
“ All along the shore,†said a large boy,
with a long stick in his hand. “Let’s go
and get some more, boys,†he added, ‘‘and
brighten up our fire.â€
So saying, he wheeled round and skated
away, the whole crowd of skaters, small and
great, following him at full speed. As they
swept round by the fire, the light glared
brightly upon their faces and forms, but they
soon disappeared from view in the darkness
A FIRE. 125
beyond ; only Jonas could hear the sound of
their skates, ringing over the ice, as they re
ceded.
‘‘ What a great, hot fire!†said Oliver.
“Yes,†said Isabella, “I never saw such a
large fire on the ice. I don’t see how they
got all the wood.â€
“‘ T suppose,†said Jonas, “that they got out
the wood from the forest, along the shore,
and threw it out upon the ice, before they
put on their skates, and then they could
easily bring it to the fire. But hark! they
are coming back again.†|
The fire was so bright where they were,
and it flashed so strongly upon the ice around,
that they could not see the skaters until they
came pretty near. The dark figures, how-
ever, soon began to appear. The foremost
was a tall young man, who came forward
with great speed, pushing before him a long
and slender log, half decayed and dry. . One
end he held before him in his hands, and the
other glided along upon the smooth ice to-
wards the fire.
There followed close behind him another
skater, with the fragment of an old stump
upon his shoulder; then several others,
. 11°
126 JON:3 ON A FARM IN WINTER.
with branches, sticks, dry bushes, and frag-
ments of every shape and size. ‘These they
piled upon the fire as they swept up along-
side of it, and then wheeled away back from
the heat which radiated from it. T'wo large
boys came on, bringing a long log between
them, one at each end. It looked large, but
it was really not very heavy, as it was hollow
and decayed. They hove it up, with great
effort, upon the fire, and its fall upon the
heap threw up a large, bright column of
sparks and flame. Another boy had the top
of a young spruce, which he had cut off
with his knife, by dint of great labor; it |
made a great roaring and crackling when it
was put upon the fire. And, finally, behind
all the rest, there came a little boy not so big
as Oliver, tugging away at a long branch,
which he dragged behind him, and put it
upon the fire too.
“Well,†said the farmer’s wife, after a
little time, “we mustn't stay here much
longer.â€â€™
‘We'll drive around the fire, in one great
sweep,’ said Jonas.
So he started the horse on, and took a
great circuit about the fire. The skaters
A FIRE. » 127
went with him on each side of the sleigh.
Then they turned their course towards home
again. ‘The light of the fire shone upon the .
distant point of land, and illuminated it
faintly, but in a very beautiful manner, and
showed Jonas which way to drive.
Isabella turned back her head repeatedly,
to look at the fire, as they rode on and left it
far behind them. It seemed to grow smaller
and smaller, as they receded ; and at length,
when Jonas turned around the point of land,
it disappeared entirely. In a few minutes
afterward, the moon arose, and lighted them
the rest of the way home.
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128
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CARDING-MILL.
Jonas was often sent away to transact
business for the farmer. He was a very ex-
cellent hand to do business. It requires sev-
eral qualities to make a boy good at business.
He must be gentlemanly in his manners, so
as to speak to the persons that he is sent to,
in a respectful and proper manner; he must
be faithful, so as not to neglect what is in-
trusted to him; and he must be patient and
persevering. ‘Then he must also have con-
siderable judgment and discretion ; for when
he is sent away from home on business, he
must often be placed in circumstances that
are unforeseen, and where he must act with-
out instructions. In stich cases, he will have
to exercise his own judgment and discretion.
Jonas was placed in such circumstances at
one time, when he was sent to the carding-
mill to get some rolls for Isabella.
THE CARDING-MILL. 129
The rolls which Isabella wanted were
rolls of wool, as they are prepared at the _
mill ready for spinning. 'The wool is carded
very fine, and then, by curious machinery, it
is rolled out into rolls about three feet long,
and as large round as a whip-handle at the
middle. ‘These rolls Isabella used to spin
into yarn, at her spinning-wheel.
Isabella had spun nearly all her rolls, and
she wanted Jonas to carry some wool to the
carding-mill, and get some more. The card-
ing-mill was not in the village upon the
outlet stream; but it was upon another
stream, which emptied into the pond, instead
of flowing from it. It was the same stream
that flowed by the land which Jonas and
Oliver had cleared when he first came to
live with the farmer; only the mill was at
some distance from the mouth of the stream,
back towards the high land. It was more
than two miles, by the road, from the farmer’s
house.
The farmer told Jonas where to get the
wool, and then gave him some more busi-
ness, at a place in the woods, about two
miles beyond the mill. Oliver wanted to go
too, and his father gave him leave. Oliver
130 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
always liked to go to the mill, as the machine
for carding the wool was a great curiosity.
Jonas put up the wool in a very large
bundle, which almost filled up the bottom of
the sleigh. Jonas himself sat upon the seat,
with his feet under the bundle; but Oliver
sat upon the bundle. He said it made a
very soft seat.
‘They rode along pleasantly towards the
mill. The snow-drifts were very high in
some places on each side of the road ; and
the fences and walls were almost buried up.
“J wish that Josey was here,†said Oliver.
“J think that he would like to see the card-
ing-mill very much indeed.â€
“Yes,†said Jonas. |
“ Only,†replied Oliver, “perhaps it would
be dangerous to take him.â€
‘Why?’ said Jonas.
“Why, because,†said Oliver, “I suppose
he would touch the machinery, and perhaps
get his hands torn off.â€
“Yes,†said Jonas, “boys sometimes do
get very badly hurt in mills, — careless and
disobedient boys especially.â€
“1 think that he is a careless and disobe-
dient boy,†said Oliver.
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THE CARDING-MILL. 132
“ Yes, but it is his misfortune, rather than
his fault,’ replied Jonas.
“His misfortune ?â€â€™ repeated Oliver.
“Yes,†said Jonas; “ his father’s situation
is such, that it is very unfortunate for him.
I expect he is very unhappily situated at
home, in many respects.â€
“ How?†said Oliver.
“Why, in the first place,†said Jonas, “he
lives, I’m told, in a large and handsome
house.â€
“Yes,†said Oliver.
‘ And then,†continued Jonas, ‘* your aunt,
I have heard, is a very fine woman, and has a
great deal of company.â€
‘“‘ Well,†said Oliver.
“And then,†continued Jonas, “they can
buy Josey any thing he wants, for play- .
things.â€â€™
“Yes,†said Oliver; “‘he told me he had
got a rocking-horse. But I don’t call that
being unfortunate.†,
“Tt is very fortunate for the father and
mother, but such a kind of life is generally
unfortunate for the child. You see, if aman
has been industrious himself, when he was a
boy, and has grown up to be a good business
12
134 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
man, and to acquire a great deal of property,
and builds a good house, and has plenty of
books, and journeys, it is all very well for
him. He can bear it, but it very often spoils
his children.â€
“ Why does it spoil his children ?†asked
Oliver.
“In the first place, it makes them conceit-
ed and vain, —not always, but often. The
children of wealthy men are very often con-
ceited. They wear better clothes than some
other boys, and have more books and prettier
playthings ; and so they become vain, and
think that they are very important, when, in
fact, they owe every thing to {heir fathers.
“Then, besides,†continued Jonas, ‘‘ they
don’t form good habits of industry. Their
fathers don’t make them work, and so they
don’t acquire any habits of industry, and pa-
tiénce, and perseverance.â€
“Tf I was a man, and had ever so much
money,†said Oliver, “I would make my
boys work.â€
“That is very doubtful,†said Jonas.
“Why is it doubtful?†asked Oliver.
“Because,†said Jonas, “ you would be
very busy, and couldn’t attend to it. It
THE CARDING-MILL. 135
would be a great deal more trouble to make
your boys do any thing, than it would be to
hire another man to do it; and so you would
hire a man, to save your trouble.â€
‘Yes; but then, Jonas, farmers are very
busy, and yet they make their boys work.â€
“True,†replied Jonas; “ but farmers are
busy about such kind of work as that their
boys can help them do it,—so they can
keep them at work without any special trou-
ble. But men of property are employed in
such kind of business as boys cannot do;
and so they must work, if they work at all,
at something else; and that makes a good
deal of trouble.â€
‘Then I’d send my boys to some farmer,
and let him make them work,†said Oliver.
“Yes,†said Jonas, ‘‘that would do pretty
well.â€
So saying, Jonas stopped the horse a mo-
ment, and stepped out of the sleigh. He
was at the foot of a long, steep hill in the
woods. He was going to walk up. Oliver
remained in the sleigh, and rode. When they
reached the top, Jonas got in again, and they
rode on.
* But then, Jonas,’’ said Oliver, ‘there is
136 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
one thing to be thought of, and that is, that
rich men’s sons will not have to work when
they grow up; and so they don’t need so
much to grow industrious.â€
“O, yes, they will,†said Jonas.
“Why, Josey told me that he didn’t ex-
pect to work when he should be a man.â€
“No, he doesn’t expect to work, but he’ll
find that it is different from what he had ex-
pected, when he grows up.â€
“ How ?†said Oliver.
“ Why, a great many rich men’s boys find,
when they get to be twenty-one, that they
have to go out into the world, and earn their
own living, without any money.â€
“Why?†said Oliver; “won't their fa-
thers give them any money?â€
“Their fathers cannot generally give them
enough to support them,†said Jonas, even
if they are disposed to do it; because, you
see, they have their own families still to sup-
port. Besides, if they were to divide their
property at once among all their children, it
would only be a small portion for each one.
It wouldn’t be enough for the boys to live as
expensively as they have been living while
at home. ‘Therefore, as fast as they grow
THE CARDING-MILL. 137
up young men, they have to go away into
the world, and earn their own money by
some kind of work, head work or hand
work.â€
Jonas would probably have given Oliver
some further explanations on this subject,
were it not that about this time they arrived -
at the mill. Oliver tied the horse at a post,
while Jonas took out the great bundle of
wool, and went in. Oliver followed imme-
diately after him.
The machinery made a heavy, rumbling
sound, which grew louder and louder as the
boys went up stairs. Jonas opened a door
into a large room, and at this the noise in-
creased very loudly, so that Oliver and Jonas
could hardly hear each other talk. Jonas
put down the bundle of wool by the door,
and then he and Oliver went in among the
wheels and machinery. There were a great
many separate machines at different parts of
the room, with girls tending them. There
was a large, round beam of wood, overhead,
slowly revolving. There were wheels upon
it in different parts, with straps passing
around these wheels, and also around other
12 *
138 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
wheels connected with the machines be-
low.
Oliver saw Jonas walk to a man who was
writing at a desk in the corner of a room,
and say something to him. Oliver could
not hear what it was. Jonas pointed, while
he was talking to the man, to the great
bundle of wool. Presently the man came
and took the bundle of wool, and dragged it
off to one of the machines, which was not
in motion. He called a girl to come and
tend it.
At one end of the machine was a broad
band of cloth, passing around two rollers.
One roller was close to the wheels and other
large rollers of the machine itself. The
other was back from it a little; and the
cloth, being extended from one of these to
the other, formed a sort of flat table just be-
fore the machine.
The girl who came to tend the machine
immediately opened the great bundle of
wool, and then she took up a handful of it,
and began to spread it evenly over the cloth.
When she had got the cloth pretty nearly
covered she pulled a handle pretty near her,
THE CARDING-MILL. 139
and that, in some mysterious way or other,
set the machinery a-going. The cloth, with
all the wool upon it, began to move towards
the great rollers of the machine. These roll-
ers were covered with card teeth, and the
wool, as it was drawn in between them, was
carded fine, and spread evenly over all the
surface; and in a few minutes Jonas and
Oliver found that it began to come out at
the other end, in the shape of rolls. One
roll after another dropped out, in a very sin-
gular manner. Oliver thought that it wasa
very curious machine indeed, to take in wool
in that way at one end, and drop it out in
beautiful long rolls at the other.
‘Now,†said Jonas, after a few munutes,
to Oliver, “I am going away farther, and -
shall come back here in about an hour.
You may go with me, or you may stay here,
— just which you prefer.â€
“Well,†said Oliver, ‘‘ I’ll stay here.â€
‘“‘ Good-by, then,†said Jonas; “I shall be
back again in about an hour.â€
So Jonas went down stairs, and Oliver be-
gan to walk about the room a little. There
was a window in the back side of the room,
140 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
which he happened to pass pretty near to,
and he stopped to look out at it. He saw
the dam and the waterfall below. ‘There
was a large pond above the fall, which was
made by the dam. The pond was frozen
over, and the ice was covered with snow.
The water was open for a short distance
above the edge of the fall, and it was also
open below the fall, where there was a great
foaming, and tumbling, and whirling of cur-
rents.
Oliver looked at it a moment, and then he
concluded that it would be better for him to
go with Jonas.
“[ have seen,†said he to himself, “ pretty
much all of the machinery, and I shall be
very tired of waiting here an hour.â€
So he concluded that he would run down,
quick, and see if Jonas had gone.
When he got down stairs, and out at the
door, he found that the sleigh was not at the
post. He ran around the corner, and saw
Jonas at some distance, just at the foot of a
hill. He ran after him, calling, “Jo— nas!
Jo—nas!â€
Just at this time, Jonas stopped to let his
THE CARDING-MILL. 141
horse walk up the hill, and so he heard Oli-
ver calling; for the bells did not make so
much noise when the horse was walking, as
they did before.
So Jonas stopped until Oliver overtook
him; and they went on the rest of the way
together.
142
CHAPTER IX,
DIFFICULTY.
ALTHOUGH it was winter when the boys
were taking this ride, yet the sun was shining
in a very warm and pleasant manner, and the
snow was every where softening in the fields
and melting in the roads, indicating that the
spring was coming on.
There was a little stream of water, coming
down the hill in the middle of the road, and
forming a long pool at the bottom. Jonas
turned his horse to one side, to avoid this pool
of water, and waited until Oliver came up.
“Well, Oliver,†said he, —‘“ tired of the
mill already ?â€
“Why, no,†said Oliver, “only I thought
that, on the whole, I’d rather go with you. I
didn’t think that you were going to be gone
so long.â€
It is about two miles,†said Jonas.
‘¢ Where are you going ?â€â€™ said Oliver,
DIFFICULTY. 143
“OQ, to see about some logs. I thought
you heard your father tell me to go and see
about some logs.â€
‘ What about the logs?†said Oliver.
‘“ Why, to make the boards of, for the
barn.â€
“OQ,†replied Oliver, “I didn’t know that.â€
‘Yes,’ continued Jonas, ‘when we want
boards, we have to go to somebody who owns
some pine timber in the woods, and get him
to cut down some of them, and haul them to
the mill. Then they saw them up, and make
boards.â€â€™
‘What mill?†said Oliver.
‘ At that saw-mill near the carding-mill.
The mill down in the village, you know, is
a grist-mill.â€
By this time, the boys had got to the top
of the hill, and they got into the sleigh, and
rode along. Presently, they came to a place
where Jonas was going to turn off, into a sort
of by-road which led away into the woods,
where the pine-trees grew. The man that
owned the trees lived pretty near, in a farm-
house.
‘Ts that the road that we are going in?â€
asked Oliver.
144 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“ Yes,†said Jonas, “but it does not look
very promising.â€
The road was filled up nearly full of snow.
It had been hard, so that they could travel
upon it pretty well; but the warm sun had
softened the snow so much, that the horses’
feet sunk down into it, in some places, very
deep. However, Jonas went along as well
as he could.
“Tet us get out and walk, Jonas,’ said
Oliver.
“‘ No,†said Jonas, ‘that will not do much
good ; for it is the weight of the horse himself,
that makes him sink into the snow, not the
weight of the sleigh.â€
So the boys both continued to ride in the
sleigh. ‘They soon came into the woods,
where, the ground being sheltered by the
trees above, the snow lay more evenly upon
it; and, though the horse slumped a little, yet
he got along very comfortably.
At length, however, they came out of the
woods into an opening. The road went
along under a high bank, with a deep brook
on the other side. The wind, during the
storms in the winter, had blown in over this
bank, and filled up the road entirely.
DIFFICULTY. 145
“Now,†said Jonas, “‘I am afraid we're in
difficulty.â€
“Why?†said Oliver ; “is that a very bad
place?â€
“Yes,†said Jonas, “it looks like a very
bad place.â€
Oliver saw that the snow was very deep
on the upper side of the road, and that it
sloped away in such a manner that it would
be very difficult for them to get along, even
if the road-way was hard.
Perhaps it is hard,†said Oliver
“No,†said Jonas, “I think it cannot be,
for the bank slopes to the south, and the sun
has been shining upon it all day. However,
We must try it.â€
The horse hesitated a moment when he
came to this place, for he knew by instinct
that it would be very hard for him to get
through it.
** (ome, General,†said Jonas. ‘ Though,
stop a moment, Oliver ; perhaps we had bet-
ter get out and ‘walk, or the sleigh may
upset.’’
So they got out. Oliver walked by the
horse, keeping on the upper side of the road.
Jonas went behind, taking hold of the back
13
146 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
part of the sleigh, so as to hold it in case it
should tip down too far. They went on
thus for some distance tolerably well. The
horse sometimes got in pretty far, and fora
' moment would plunge and stagger, as if he
could hardly get along; but then h> would
work his way out, and go on a little farther.
At length, however, the old General came
to a full stop. He sank down, shoulders un-
der, in the snow. The more he struggled to
get free, the deeper he got in. Jonas stepped
on before him, and patted him on the head,
and tried to quiet him.
“‘ Jonas,â€â€™ said Oliver, ‘let us stop; I don’t
believe we can go any farther.â€
‘Nor I,†said Jonas. ‘ At least I don’t
think we can get the old General any far-
ther.â€
‘Nor back again either,†said Oliver, ‘‘ as
I see.â€
The boys stood still, looking upon. the
horse a moment, utterly at a loss what to do.
“Oliver,†said Jonas, “should you be
willing to stay here and take care of the
horse, while I go on and see about the logs?â€
“ Why —I—don’t know,†said Oliver.
“Tm afraid he won’t stand quiet.â€
DIFFICULTY. 147
“*O, I shall get him out of the snow, first,â€
said Jonas, “and take him to some level
place, where he’ll stand well.â€
“How shall you get him out?†asked
Oliver.
‘Why, we will unharness him first,†said
Jonas, ‘‘and then draw the sleigh back out
of the way.â€
So Jonas began to unbuckle the straps of
the harness, in order to liberate the horse.
Oliver tried to help him, but he could not do
much, the horse was so deep in the snow.
And, besides, he was standing, or rather lying,
in such a position, that many parts of the
harness were drawn so tense, that Oliver had
not strength enough to unbuckle them.
However, Jonas at length got the sleigh
separated from the horse, and drew it .back
out of the way. He trampled the snow
down around the horse, as much as he could,
and then the horse, with a leap and a plunge,
recovered his footing. He stood deep in the
snow yet, however.
“Now,†said Jonas, ‘‘ where shall we put
him till I come back ?â€
Oliver looked across the brook, and saw
there, upon a bank, under some trees, a
148 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
spot which was bare. "The reason why it
was bare was, that the snow had nearly all
blown off during the storms; and then the
sun, which had been shining for some days
so pleasantly, had melted away what there
had been left; and now the ground was bare,
and almost dry. But the difficulty was to
get to it; for it was upon the other side of
the stream, and the bed of the stream was
filled with water and ice.
‘“T wouldn’t lead him over there,’ said
Oliver. ‘“Ithink you had better go home,
and not do any thing about the timber.â€
“No,†said Jonas.
“Why, father will not think you did
wrong to give it up, when we got into such
trouble,â€â€™ said Oliver.
“No, I don’t suppose he would; but I’d
rather carry him back an answer, if I can.â€
‘Then let me go with you,†said Oliver.
“Why, it is a long and very hard walk,â€
said Jonas. “There is no work so hard
as travelling in soft snow, without snow-
shoes. If we had a pair of snow-shoes, we
could get along very well.â€
“Did you ever see any snow-shoes?â€â€™ said
Oliver.
DIFFICULTY. 149
“No,†replied Jonas, “but I have read
about them. They are very large and flat,
and your foot stands in the middle of them,
and so presses them upon the snow; and
they are so large that they will not sink in
very far.â€
While Jonas was saying this, he was
climbing down to the bank of the brook,
with a pole in his hands, with which he was
going to see if he could find firm footing,
for the horse to go across.
“Yes,†said he, punching his pole down
to the bottom of the brook; “yes, it isn’t
deep. The old General will get down here
very well, I think.â€
_So he and Oliver trampled a sort of path
down to the brook, and then they led the old
General down. He seemed a little reluctant,
at first, to step into the water. However,
he soon went in, and walked over, and Oli-
ver fastened him to a tree, so that he could
stand upon the bare piece of ground. Jonas
' then pulled the sleigh out of the road, so
that it should not be in the way, if any body
should come along with any other team;
then he bade Oliver good-by, and went on
alone.
13 *
150 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
Jonas travelled along, as well as he could,
through the snow, though he found it very
laborious walking. In some places, he found
hard footing for some distance; but then he
would sink down again for several successive
steps. After a short distance, he got out of
the deep drift, which had prevented the
horse from going on, and then he could ad-
vance faster. There was a singular-looking
track in the road. It consisted of a smooth
groove in the snow, as if the end of a large
log had been dragged along.
It was, in fact, made by a log which had
been drawn along that road towards the mill.
One end of the log had been placed upon a
sled, and the other left to drag along in the
snow ; and this was what made the smooth
groove, which Jonas observed. He did not
see it before, because the man who drove the
sled had turned out of the main road, into a
by-way across the fields, to avoid the deep
drift where Jonas’s horse got into difficulty.
- Jonas found it pretty good walking after
this. 'The snow was not so deep as it had
been ; and the path which the log had made
was hard and smooth. He concluded that it
must have been made by such a log, and, of
DIFFICULTY. 151
course, if he followed it, that it would take
him directly to the house ofthe man whom
he wanted to see.
After walking about a mile, he came to
the house. It was a small farm-house, in the
woods. There were a great many large
logs, lying each side of the road near it,
ready to be drawn to the mill.
Jonas went up towards the door, which
was in the end of the house. As he drew
near to it, he saw a boy’s head behind an
enormous pile of wood. He went around it,
and found that the boy was about as big as
Jonas himself. He was rolling down a large
stick of wood, and had an axe in his hand,
as if he was going to chop it.
“Does Mr. Woodman live here?†said
Jonas.
“Yes,†said the boy; “but he isn’t at
home.â€
‘Where is he?†said Jonas.
“Te is out in the lot, falling trees,†said
the boy.
“ How far is it from here?†asked Jonas.
“O, about a good half mile.â€
“ Which way ?†said Jonas.
152 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
«“ Out yonder,†said the boy ; and he pointed
back of the house, where a rough sled-road
led into the woods. ‘You can hear his
axe.â€
Jonas listened, and he heard distinctly the
sound of an axe in the woods behind ; pres-
ently it ceased. Immediately after, there
was a prolonged crash, which echoed back
from the mountains.
“'There goes a tree,†said the boy.
Jonas was sorry to have to leave Oliver so
long, but he wished to persevere until he
should find the man, as he knew that the
farmer was very desirous of having the busi-
ness done that day. So he told the boy
that he believed he would go and see if he
could find Mr. Woodman; and then he set
off in the direction which the boy had in-
dicated.
This road was so sheltered by the woods,
that the snow was not much drifted; and,
besides, it had been kept open by the teams,
which had been employed in hauling out
pine logs. When Jonas got in to the end of
the road, he heard the strokes of the axe, at
a short distance on the right.
DIFFICULTY. 153
He looked that way, and found that the
man was standing at the foot of a tall tree,
of very large size; and he was cutting
through the trunk of it, about two feet from
the top of the snow. He saw that it was
nearly off, and so he thought he would wait
a moment, where he was, and see it fall.
He observed that Mr. Woodman occasionally
looked up the stem of the tree, between the
strokes of his axe, a3 if to see whether it was
beginning to fall.
After a few strokes more, he stepped back
from the foot of the tree to one side. Jonas
wondered why he left his work before the
tree fell. He looked up to the top of it, and
he perceived that it was moving. It was
bending over very slowly indeed. It moved,
however, faster and faster, and presently be-
gan to come tearing down between the
branches of the other trees, and, at length,
- descended with a mighty crash to the ground.
Jonas thought that it was a very fine spec-
tacle indeed. He wished that Oliver had
been there to see it.
Jonas then went to Mr. Woodman, and
transacted his business successfully, accord-
154 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
ing to the farmer’s directions. 'Then he
turned around, and began to walk back, as
fast as he could go.
‘‘T am afraid,†said he to himself, “ that
Oliver is almost out of patience waiting for
me.â€
155
CHAPTER X.
A SURPRISE.
Jonas walked on until he came out of the
woods, at the house where he had seen the
boy cut wood. As he approached the place,
he saw that the boy was there still; but
there was a man with him. The man had a
goad-stick in his hand. ,
“He is driving a team somewhere,†said
Jonas to himself. ‘I wonder where his
oxen are.â€
A moment afterwards, Jonas came in sight
of the oxen, which were in the road, hav-
ing been hid from his view before, by the
wood pile.
The man and the boy looked at Jonas, as
he walked towards them. ‘The man smiled
a little, as if he knew Jonas; but Jonas
thought that he had never seen him before.
“Well, Jonas,†said the man, “did you
find Mr. Woodman? â€â€™
156 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“Yes, sir,†replied Jonas. He wondered
how the man happened to know his name.
“I’m glad of it,†said he; “and you’d
better make haste back. Rollo is almost
tired of waiting for you.â€
“Oliver, you mean,†said Jonas.
“No,†said the man, —‘“ Rollo; he said
his name was Rollo.â€
Rollo?†said Jonas; ‘‘ his name is Oliver.
I don’t see what made him tell you that his
name was Rollo.’’
So saying, Jonas walked thoughtfully
away, wondering what this could mean,
He had never known Oliver to do any such
thing before. Oliver, he thought, would not
tell a falsehood on any account. He was
not inclined to say any thing of that kind by
way of jest. He wasavery sober and sedate,
as well as honest boy. Besides, he could
not think what should have put Rollo into
Oliver’s head. He did not recollect that he
had said any thing of Rollo for a long time.
In fact, he had seldom told Oliver any thing
about him; and what could have induced
him to call himself Rollo, he could not con-
ceive.
A SURPRISE. 157
However, he had nothing to do but to go
on, for the more he attempted to imagine
some explanation of the mystery, the more
he was puzzled. So he walked on as dil-
igently as he could.
He came, at length, in sight of the spot
where he had left the horse and Oliver. The
horse was there, but Oliver was not to be
seen. |
‘‘He has got tired of waiting, and has gone
away,†said Jonas; “or perhaps he is playing
about near.†|
This last supposition was pretty soon, for
a moment, confirmed; for Jonas saw, very
soon after, a boy’s head on the bank of the
brook, at a little distance below.
‘There he is now,†said Jonas to himself.
‘No, it isn’t he. That boy isn’t dressed like
Oliver. I wonder who it is.â€
The boy had a long pole in his hand, and
was pushing cakes of ice with it. He was
so intent upon this amusement, that at first
he did not see Jonas; but, presently, looking
up, his eye suddenly caught a view of Jonas,
coming, and he instantly dropped his pole,
and ran towards him, shouting, —
“* Jonas! â€
/
14
158 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
“Why, Rollo!†exclaimed Jonas, in his
turn. ‘How came you to be here?â€
It was Rollo, indeed. Jonas was aston-
ished. He could scarcely believe his senses.
“Ts it possible that this is you ?†said he.
“Yes,†said Rollo, laughing with great
delight, “I believe it is.â€
“ And how came you here? [I left Oliver
here an hour ago, little thinking that he
would turn into Rollo while I was gone.â€
“ Qliver?â€â€™ said Rollo, ‘‘ who is Oliver?â€
“Why, don’t you know Oliver?†said
Jonas. “He is the farmer’s son. He came
with me, and I left him here to the care of
the sleigh. Haven’t you seen any thing of
him?â€
“No,†replied Rollo, “nothing; there was
nobody here when I came.â€
“What can have become of him, then?â€
said Jonas. ‘I hope he is not lost in the
woods.â€â€™ j
So saying, Jonas began to call aloud,
“ Oliver! Oliver!’ But no Oliver answered.
“Let us see if we can find any tracks,â€
said he;.and he and Rollo began to look
about for tracks.
‘‘What’s this ?â€â€™ said Rollo, looking down
A SURPRISE. 159
intently upon the snow, pretty near where
the horse had been tied.
‘‘Any tracks?†said Jonas.
“No,†said Rollo, “but some writing in
the snow.â€â€™
So Rollo began to read the Writing in a
slow manner, as he walked along from one
word to another ; for, the letters being large,
the sentence extended quite a distance from
where it first attracted his attention. He
read as follows :— |
‘““ Jonas, —I — am —- tired of writing,’ —
no, ‘waiting. I am going — back —to —the
— mill,’ â€
‘Let me see,†said Jonas.
So Jonas came to the place, and saw the
writing. Rollo had read it correctly.
“Yes,†said Jonas, “he has gone back to
the mill, no doubt. We will go, and we shall
find him there ;— but when did you come
from home? and how did you find where I
was?â€
Rollo, in answer to Jonas’s question, ex-
plained to him that his father had given him
permission to take the horse and sleigh and
Nathan, and come and pay Jonas a visit. He
had arrived at the farmer’s that day, just after
160 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
Jonas and Oliver had set out. The farmer
told them where Jonas had gone, and he was
very desirous of going after him. He said
that he had no doubt that he could find him.
The farmer had hesitated a little ; but finally
he gave his consent, and Rollo set off, leaving
Nathan at the farmer’s, as he was rather tired.
He had followed Jonas to the mill, and then
he inquired of the people whether Jonas had
been there. A man in the road told him that
he had seen Jonas ride away on a certain
road; and so Rollo had followed on in the
road pointed out to him, as he knew that it
was not far that he was to go. :
When Rollo had got so far in his story,
Jonas interrupted him to ask, —
“Were you on foot, Rollo?â€
“No,†replied Rollo, “in my sleigh.â€
“ And where is your sleigh?†asked Jonas.
“Why, I left it out here a little way.
When I found that the snow was deep, and
my horse slumped in pretty bad, I left him
by the side of the road, and walked on to see
if I could see any thing of you. Isoon found
your sleigh, run out of the path, and the
horse tied under a tree over the brook. So
I knew that you couldn’t be far off.â€
A SURPRISE. . 161
‘And you did not go any farther.â€
“No,†said Rollo; “I thought it would be
better for me to stay by the sleigh, and wait
for you.â€
Jonas asked Rollo a great many questions
about all the people at home —his father and
mother, and his cousin Lucy; and he said
that he was very glad indeed, that Rollo had
come to see him.
‘Do you have a pretty good time upon
the farm?†said Rollo.
“Yes,†said Jonas, “very good indeed.
You would like to be here very much.â€
‘Are there any boys for me to play with?â€
said Rollo.
“Yes,†said Jonas, “ there is Oliver, though
he don’t play much. He works nearly all
the time. But then there is Josey, though
he has gone home now.â€
“IT saw a boy at the mill,†said Rollo,
“when I came along. I verily believe it
was Oliver.â€
“How big was he?†asked Jonas.
‘OQ, about as big as I am,†said Rollo.
‘And what was he doing?†said Jonas.
“‘Q, he was playing about on the rocks,
under the falls. But he didn’t seem to have
14*
-
162 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
much to do. He stopped and looked at me
when I was coming by.â€
“ Very likely it was he,†said Jonas. “ If
he had only known who you were, he would
have liked very much to have come along
with you; and you would have been good
company for each other.
“And O, Rollo,†said Jonas again, very
eagerly, “there’s somebody you'll like very
much indeed.â€
‘Who is it?†said Rollo.
“Franco Ney,†said Jonas.
“Franco Ney:!â€â€™ repeated Rollo; “I never
heard a boy named Franco before. How old
is he?â€
“J don’t know,†said Jonas.
“ Don’t know? Well, where does he live?
—at your house ¢â€â€™
“No,†said Jonas. Jonas was correct in
this answer, for Franco was accustomed to
live in the barn.
After some other conversation, Rollo, sud-
denly looking up, said, —
‘“‘ How far is it, Jonas, from your house to
Mr. Ney’s? â€â€™
Jonas laughed very heartily at this ques-
tion, but gave no answer. Rollo could not
A SURPRISE. 163
imagine what he could be laughing at. Jo-
nas, however, would not tell him, but said
that he would know all about it, when he
should come to see Franco Ney.
“ Well,†said Rollo, “Ill ask him why
you wouldn’t tell me where his father lives.â€
Very soon Rollo and Jonas arrived at the
mill. They found Oliver safe there, waiting
for them; and the rolls, too, were ready. As
they did not like to tumble the rolls, Oliver
rode with Rollo in his sleigh, and Jonas took
care of the rolls.
Rollo was greatly astonished, as well as
very much pleased, when he came to see
Franco Ney.
164
CHAPTER XI.
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD FOR EVIL.
Tur next morning, after breakfast, Oliver
proposed to Rollo, that they should go down
to the pond, and build a snow fort. During
the night, there had been a slight thaw, ac-
companied with some rain. The body of
snow on the ground had become softened
and adhesive by the moisture, and was, as
Jonas said, “in prime condition for all sorts
of snow work.â€â€™
Oliver borrowed of Jonas the large wooden
snow-shovel, with a blade nearly two feet
square, used in cutting out the paths around
the house. Rollo assisted him to strap it on
the hand-sled, together with some boards,
two iron shovels, and a hoe.
“The Conqueror †— for that was the name
of his sled — “ will have to be captive to-day,â€
said Oliver, as he bound the load upon the
sled, which he and Rollo were going to drag
down to the pond.
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD For EVIL. 165
“ You had better take the garden-reel and
line,†said Jonas to Oliver, “if you intend to
make a good fort. You will want to stretch
your line so as to make the sides square, and
to guide you in cutting out your blocks of
snow.†|
“O, we don’t want to be so particular as
that,†said Oliver.
“But I thought,†said Jonas, “that your
plan last evening was, to do your work ina
workmanlike manner. If you want a sub-
stantial fort to last all winter, you must lay a
good foundation, and cut your courses true,
so that they will rest firmly one upon the
other, —and especially if you are going to
have a roof.â€
“We mean to have a roof,†said Rollo,
“ or we cannot illuminate it in the evening.â€
«“ Well, then,†said Jonas, “I advise you to
take the line, and build according to rule.â€
Oliver had not forgotten what Jonas had
often told him about doing his work like a
workman.
“What is worth doing at all, is worth
doing well,’ Jonas used to say.
So Oliver went to get the reel and line.
While he was gone to the tool-house,
166 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
Rollo thought of Franco Ney, and began to
call aloud, “‘ Franco! Franco! â€
Franco did not come.
“Franco! Franco—o! Franco—o!
Where is Franco?†said Rollo; ‘we can’t
go without him.â€
‘He won’t mind you,†said Oliver, as he
came running back.
‘You call him, then,†said Rollo.
Oliver whistled the dog call, and in a mo-
ment, Franco came running from the poultry
yard with a bone in his mouth, which he
had been gnawing for a breakfast. At that
moment, Nathan came running out of the
door, with a luncheon in his hand for them
all. The farmer’s wife had put up in a
paper an apple turn-over and a nut-cake for
each of the boys, as they were going on so
important an expedition.
Very soon, every thing was ready, and
they started for the scene of operations, eager
for their work, Oliver and Rollo drawing the
sled, and Nathan and Franco following on
behind.
When they arrived near the pond, Oliver
pointed to a little mound, not far from the
edge of the water, which overlooked the
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD FOR EVIL. 167
principal skating-ground of the village boys
in winter.
“There, Rollo,†said Oliver, “ there’s the
place for a fort. Many a pleasant time we
have had there, in a clear winter night,
watching the skaters all the way up to the
head of the pond. The fires look splen-
didly.â€
“Tt is a good place for a lookout,†said
Rollo ; “but then I wouldn’t build it here.
Let us go down nearer the pond.â€
‘“No,†said Oliver; “if we go down near
the pond, as likely as not, the first skating
night, some of the boys will tear our fort all
to pieces.â€
“ What if they do?†said Rollo.
‘“‘T want it to last all winter,†said Oliver.
Rollo yielded to Oliver’s wishes, and they
began together to unbind their load of boards
and tools.
‘¢ Come, Nathan,†said Oliver, “ we want
you to help us now.â€
Rollo and Nathan measured with the reel
and line, while Oliver planted a stake firmly
in the snow at the four corners of the square.
According to Jonas’s advice, the evening
before, they had agreed to make their fortifi-
168 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
cation twelve feet square, and the walls
about one foot thick.
Rollo and Nathan held the cord, stretched
from corner to corner, just along the surface
of the snow, while Oliver, with the shovel,
cut the snow square down to the ground,
more than a foot and a half deep.
In this way they went round the whole
enclosure, outside. They then went inside,
and, by a similar process, cut away the snow
so as to leave an unbroken line of snow wall
about ten feet square and one foot wide.
“There,†said Oliver, ‘there are the sills,
as Jonas called them. It is what J call a
good foundation.â€
After this, Oliver asked Rollo to bring in
the measuring-board inside of the fort.
Oliver and Rollo remembered what Jonas
had told them about “commanding and
obeying,’’ and agreed to take turns in being
“ director.â€
It was Oliver’s turn for the first hour, and
Rollo was to obey him. Nathan was to as-
sist them both, when he was wanted.
Oliver, therefore, took the command, and
directed where and how to cut out the snow,
in the manner which Jonas had described.
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD ror EviL. 169
They proceeded with the measuring-board,
to mark off, and cut out by it, solid blocks of
snow about four feet long, one foot wide, and
one thick. |
Rollo laid down the measuring-board on
the snow, and then both of them, with the
shovels, cut down the snow perpendicularly
along the edges, so as to have all the snow-
blocks of precisely the same length, breadth,
and thickness. ‘These they laid in courses,
on the top of the foundation.
It took just three blocks to form aside, ex-
cepting the side where the door was, which
they left three feet wide.
After working more than two hours, and
laying two courses, they shoveled out all
the broken snow that remained inside, and
then sat down on the sled to eat their lun-
cheon and rest,
‘‘ How do you like the looks of it, Rollo?â€
said Oliver. :
“Well,†said Rollo; ‘‘ only I don’t see how
we can make a roof.â€
“ Jonas will help us do that,†said Oliver,
“if we do the rest of the work well.â€
'The boys, however, were now pretty tired,
They had worked very hard. They pulled
15
170 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
off their caps, and with their handkerchiefs
wiped the perspiration from their fore-
heads.
“Don’t let us work any longer now,†said
Nathan, rubbing his hands, and knocking one
foot aguinst the other. “I think we have
done enough for one day ; and my feet are so
cold!â€
‘ We've done enough!†said Oliver. “TI
think Rollo and I have had the principal do-
ing todo. You and Franco have been look-
ing on.â€
««¢ What you’ve to do
Get done to-day,
And do not for to-morrow stay ;
There’s always danger in delay ’—
said Rollo. ‘I think we had better finish
it now. Come, Nathan, jump about here
on the sled, and you will soon be warm.â€
So they went briskly at work again, Rollo
taking the command. ‘They found it very
hard, after the second course, to get the snow-
blocks up on the snowy wall. Often they
would slip away out of their hands, just as
they were.lodging them safely on the top,
and fall over on one side of the wall, and
break to pieces.
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD FoR EvIL. 171
“Tet us cut them in two,’ said Oliver;
‘we can handle them better so.â€
Before they got through the fourth course,
they were glad to cut all their materials into
pieces of one foot square.
“How high are the walls now?†said
Rollo, as they stopped to look at the appear-
ance of the last course.
‘‘ Between five and six feet,’ said Oliver.
“The foundation is at least a foot and a half
high, and we have laid four courses.â€
Oliver, Rollo, and Nathan went to work
together, then, stopping up all the chinks in
the wall, inside and out, with soft snow.
When this was well done, Oliver took the
hoe, and with the sharp edge shaved down
all around on both sides, making the walls
look even and true.
“ Well,†said Rollo, “that is the best snow —
fort Lever saw. Jonas does know how to do
things, doesn’t he, Oliver? But I don’t see
how we are to get a roof on.â€
“J don’t care about a roof,†said Oliver.
“We don’t want to play in it only in pleas-
ant weather.â€
“Tl tell you what we might do,†said
i
172 § JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
Rollo. “We could make a partition through
the middle, and put a roof over half of it.â€
‘So we can,†said Oliver. ‘ We'll do
that this afternoon. It’s time to go to din-
ner now.â€
The boys then gathered all the tools, &c.,
and laid them together, as Jonas had taught
them to do, when they finished work, and
then started for home.
“ Halloo, Franco,†said Rollo, “are you
here still?†They had been so busy at
work, they had taken no notice of him. But —
Franco had watched their operations, and
now went running on in the path before the
boys, wagging his tail, as if he had as much
pleasure as they, in contemplating the result
of their morning’s labor.
When Jonas came home to dinner, at noon,
the boys were impatient to tell him what
they had done.
But Jonas was too much engaged in some
work about the new barn to listen to their
story then. He told them, however, that he
would go down about sunset, and look at their
work, and hear the account, in the evening,
of the experiment in doing work like work-
men.
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD FOR EVIL. 178
After dinner, Oliver -was excused from
many of his regular duties, on account of
the visit of Rollo and Nathan; and the three
boys hastened to return to their fort. They
Were so intent on finishing it, that they lost
all interest in playing with Franco, or each
other.
‘What shall we call our fort?†said Oli-
ver, as they walked along.
‘We don’t want any name, do we?’ said
Rollo.
*Q, yes,†said Oliver, “let us have a
name. Ialwayslike tohaveaname, There’s
the old ‘General,’ —we have had many a
good time with him; and my ‘ Conqueror,’
— there isn’t a boy in town that doesn’t
know my sled.â€
‘We might call it ‘ Gibraltar,’ †said Rollo.
“Yes, that’s a good name,†said Oliver.
“ How do you like ‘Iceberg Castle’? Jonas
was telling us all about the icebergs the
other evening; and I read a story, about a
famous ‘Ice Palace’ in Russia; how do you
like that?â€
“JT don't like that,†said Rollo, ‘ Ours-is
a fort ; it isn’t a palace.â€
“Jf you are going to have it a palace,â€
15*
174 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
said Nathan, “whom will you have for a
king?â€
“You may be king, Nathan,†said Rollo,
“and we will soon demolish your palace,
and make a prisoner of you.â€
“No, no,†said Oliver, “the fort shall
stand as long as ice will last. I mean to
pour water all over it, and freeze it into solid
ice; and I expect the last ice to be seen any
where about next spring, will be the ruins
of the old fort.†|
After some discussion, the boys agreed to
call it “ Iceberg Castle.â€
They then took a survey, inside and out,
of their morning’s work, and decided to pro-
ceed at once and build the partition which
Rollo proposed before dinner. At Oliver’s
suggestion, Rollo was director.
For more than an hour they continued
their toil, in constructing the partition. Jo-
nas had given them no instructions about
this; and they found it much more difficult
than the walls, on account of the small, low
door, which they had to make, to lead from
one apartment into the other.
At last, as Oliver and Nathan were draw-
ing through the outer door a small heap of
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD FOR EviL. 175
loose snow, which they had gathered up
from the floor of the inner room, Rollo fol-
lowed them, shouting, as they emerged from
the fort, “ Done, boys, done! — Hurrah for
Iceberg Castle! â€
‘‘T wish Jonas was here now,†said Oli-
ver ; “ but I suppose it will be two or three
hours before he can come down.â€
“Can’t we do something more?†said
Rollo. “I wish we could put on a roof,
before he comes.â€
“T don’t believe we can do that,†vifaid
Oliver.
The boys walked in and out, and all
around the fort, again and again, admiring
its appearance, and thinking what else they
could do.
“It wouldn’t be a bad plan to have a king,
as Nathan said, in our castle ; would it, Oli-
ver?†said Rollo.
“Not at all,†said Oliver. ““ Let us make
a king, or a giant, to keep the premises for
us, when we are away.â€
So saying, they all set to work rolling
snow-balls to make him.
Oliver rolled up a huge mass, for his body,
176 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
larger than they could at first get through
the doors.
Rollo rolled one for his head, and Nathan
made several small ones.
In one corner of the inner room, they laid
a small platform, of several square, flat blocks
of snow, for a throne, as Rollo called it ; and
here they placed his ‘“‘ Majesty.â€
“It seems to me,†said Oliver, “that the
King of the Frozen Regions ought to have
a crown and a court.â€
No sooner said than done. A little band
of snow-balls, in double rows, soon encircled
his brow, surmounted, too, with icicles and
stalactites, which Nathan brought from the
brook. 2
The opposite corners of the room were
soon decorated with corresponding figures,
whom Rollo introduced as Lord and Lady
Frost.
He had scarcely pronounced the names,
when Jonas walked in, to the surprise and
great delight of the boys.
“ Well done, boys,†said Jonas ; “I think
you have followed directions this time. I
give you credit for doing your work in a
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD For EviL, 177
workmanlike manner. But I can’t stay to
talk with you about it now. Your father,
Oliver, wishes me to go out on the pond, and
bring home the sled we left there, the other
night, in the storm. The wind has come
out in the north-west, and there is every
prospect of a bitter cold night. It has begun
to stiffen already, and, before morning, the
sled may be locked up in solid ice.â€
Jonas hurried away, and the boys, not a
little disappointed, gathered all their imple-
ments together to return home.
“It will be acold night; won’t it?†said
Oliver, as he looked off to the north-west.
How fast it grows cold! It freezes now. 1
was in hopes we should have one more mild
day. But we can’t get a roof on after this.â€â€™
“Won't it make good skating on the
pond,†asked Rollo, “if the water freezes
now ?â€
“ Yes, indeed,†said Oliver. ‘I shouldn't
be surprised if there was skating there to-
night. It’s only a thin sheet of water over
the ice and snow. ‘Three or four hours of
real cold will make ice enough for that.
“Come, Nathan, jump on the sled, and you
shall have a ride. Rollo and I will be your
178 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER.
horses. Mother will have supper ready by
the time we get home.â€
Nathan, glad of a ride, took his seat, and
they were soon at the house.
Oliver took the snow-shovels and the other
tools, and returned them to their proper places,
and then drew up his sled into a corner of
the wagon-house.
After tea, Oliver and Rollo went out into
the yard to feel the air, and judge of the im-
pression the night would probably make upon
‘Iceberg Castle†and its inhabitants.
It was clear and cold. The stars twinkled
brightly. ‘The moon was not up.
‘See there!’’ said Oliver; ‘I do believe
they are building a fire down on the pond
already. ‘There’ll be a skating party to-
night, no doubt.â€
The boys returned to a cheerful room with
a good fire, and were seated round the table,
to amuse themselves for the evening. 'They
passed the time pleasantly until Jonas re-
turned from the pond.
“OQ Jonas, Jonas,†they all said, as he
came in, “‘ what made you stay so long?â€
Jonas gave them an account of his adven-
tures, and of his meeting a party of skaters,
THE SNOW FORT, OR GOOD FoR EvIL. 179
who were already on the pond, expecting to
be joined, in the course of the evening, by a
much larger number from the village. |
After Jonas had taken his supper, the boys
gathered around him to talk about their fort,
every now and then running to the door or
window, to see the fire on the pond.
Long before it went out, Oliver, Rollo, and
Nathan, were in a sound sleep.
The next morning, early, they appeared
as impatient to run down to the “ Castle,†as
if they had dreamed of it all night long;
and before the fire was well burning in the
great room, they all three came running back
to Jonas, out of breath, and with sad faces,
exclaiming, —
“OQ Jonas! Jonas! our fort is all torn to
pieces!â€
True enough, some of the boys of the
skating party had completely demolished the
Castle.
Oliver and Rollo were greatly excited ;
they were grieved, and they were angry,
and could scarcely refrain from expressing
wishes of vengeance which it was not in
their power to execute.
180 JONAS ON A FARM IN WINTER,
Jonas sympathized with them in their
severe disappointment.
‘Tis too bad,’’ said Rollo.
"Tis too bad,†repeated Oliver. ‘ How
shall we pay them for it? Jonas, tell us
how?†.
‘“Pay them for it?†said Jonas; “ that
isn’t the way I should do,â€
“Well, I think they deserve it,’ said
Rollo.
So do I,†said Oliver.
‘“ What do you mean by paying them for
it?†said Jonas; “giving them as much
injury and pain.as they have given you?
Don’t you remember the lesson that Franco
taught us, that to return good for evil was
good policy as well as good morals ?â€
“Well, what would you do, Jonas?’ they
both asked together.
“I don’t know now,’ said Jonas, ‘‘ what
I would do. I will think of it. But this I
know, — that we ought never to be overcome
of evil, but to overcome evil with good.â€
Oliver and Rollo wondered what Jonas
would do.
THE END.
A oh A )
ON
FARM
TaN