FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96  
97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   >>   >|  
enough, a-whistlin' 'Tramp, tramp,' and makin' the horses switch round a good deal. But, like enough, ef she'd be down-spereted-like, she'd never go near the winder, but just set there, a-stitchin' beads on velvet or a-plattin' them mats." "Why should she work?" I asked, with my grasp still on the reins. "Them all does," he answered, taking a fresh bite of the straw. "It's the best cure for sorrow, they say. Or mebbe she's a-teachin' the children. I see a powerful sight of children comin' along while you was in there talkin', a-goin' to their school, and I tried to ask some o' them about her. But the old sheep who was drivin' on 'em looked at me like vinegar, and I thought I'd better shet up, or mebbe she'd give the alarm that we was here with horses and wagon to carry her off." I had a painful moment of indecision as Hiram paused in his narrative and leisurely proceeded to evict a fly from the near horse's ear. "I think we'll go on, Hiram," I said, jumping back to my seat again. "Take the river-road." Hiram had brought plentiful provision for his horses in a bag under the seat. "Victualed for a march or a siege," he said as he dragged out a tin kettle from the same receptacle when we drew up by the roadside an hour after. "We're clear of them pryin' Shakers, and we'll just rest a spell." I could not demur, though my impatience was urging me on faster than his hungry horses could go. "I told Susan," he said, "to put me up a bit of pie and cheese--mebbe we wouldn't be back afore night. Won't you hev' some?--there's a plenty." But I declined the luncheon, and while he munched away contentedly, and while the horses crunched their corn, I got out and walked on, telling Hiram to follow at his leisure. My heart beat fast as I espied a wagon in the distance with one--yes, two--Shaker bonnets in it. Bessie in masquerade! Perhaps so--it could not be the other: that would be too horrible. But she was coming, surely coming, and the cold prim sister had told the truth, after all. The wagon came nearer. In it were two weather-beaten dames, neither of whom could possibly be mistaken for Bessie in disguise; and the lank, long-haired brother who was driving them looked ignorant as a child of anything save the management of his horses. I hailed them, and the wagon drew up at the side of the road. It was the women who answered in shrill, piping voices: "Ben to Watervliet? Nay, they'd ben driving round the country, sel
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96  
97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

horses

 

children

 

Bessie

 
looked
 
coming
 

answered

 
driving
 

telling

 

follow

 

walked


crunched
 

espied

 

Shakers

 

contentedly

 

whistlin

 
leisure
 

munched

 

hungry

 

wouldn

 
cheese

distance

 
luncheon
 

impatience

 

declined

 

urging

 

faster

 

plenty

 
Perhaps
 

brother

 

haired


ignorant

 

possibly

 

mistaken

 

disguise

 

voices

 

Watervliet

 

piping

 

shrill

 

management

 

hailed


horrible

 

country

 

Shaker

 

bonnets

 

masquerade

 

surely

 
weather
 

beaten

 

nearer

 

sister