won't ye, now? Say yes."

"Yes, yes, if it is so ordered, friend. Thank you, yes. I feel moved to
say that I will come back. You are very good, my friend."

"Yes, yes, come back and see us all. I won't detain ye any longer now.
You see that there openin'? Well, you just follow that path as the
crow flies, and you'll come to the school-'ouse. Good-day,
stranger--good-day."

It was early spring, a season always beautiful in southern Indiana. The
buds were swelling; the woodpeckers were tapping the old trees, and the
migrating birds were returning to their old homes in the tree-tops.
Jasper went along singing, for his heart was happy, and he felt the
cheerful influence of the vernal air. The birds to him were prophets and
choirs, and the murmur of the south winds in the trees was a sermon. A
right and receptive spirit sees good in everything, and so Jasper sang
as he walked along the footpath.

The school-house came into view. It was built of round logs, and was
scarcely higher than a tall man's head. The chimney was large, and was
constructed of poles and clay, and the floor and furniture were made of
puncheons, as split logs were called. The windows consisted of rough
slats and oiled paper. The door was open, and Jasper came up and stood
before it. How strange the new country all seemed to him!

The schoolmaster came to the door. He affected gentlemanly and almost
courtly manners, and bowed low.

"Is this Mr. Crawford, may I ask?" said Jasper.

"Andrew Crawford. And whom have I the honor of meeting?"

"My new name is Jasper. I am one of the Brethren. They call me the
Parable. I am on my way to Rock Island, Illinois, to meet Black Hawk,
the chief, who has promised to assist me with a guide and interpreter
for my missionary journeys among the new settlements and the tribes. I
have come, may it please you, to visit the school. I am a teacher
myself."

"You do us great honor, and I assure you that you are very welcome--very
welcome. Come in."

The scholars stared, and presented a very strange appearance. The boys
were dressed in buckskin breeches and linsey-woolsey shirts, and the
girls in homespun gowns of most economical patterns. The furniture
seemed all pegs and puncheons. The one cheerful object in the room was
the enormous fireplace. The pupils delighted to keep this fed with fuel
in the chilly winter days, and the very ashes had cheerful suggestions.
It was all ashes now, for the sun was high, and the sp