The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Roof Tree, by Charles Neville Buck

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Title: The Roof Tree

Author: Charles Neville Buck

Illustrator: Lee F. Conrey

Release Date: May 4, 2009 [EBook #28683]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE ROOF TREE

[Illustration: "_She stood there a little shyly at first; as slender
and as gracefully upright as a birch_"]

THE ROOF TREE

BY
CHARLES NEVILLE BUCK

ILLUSTRATED
BY
LEE F. CONREY

GARDEN CITY, N. Y., AND TORONTO
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1921

BOOKS BY
CHARLES NEVILLE BUCK

BATTLE CRY, THE
CALL OF THE CUMBERLANDS, THE
CODE OF THE MOUNTAINS, THE
DESTINY
KEY TO YESTERDAY, THE
LIGHTED MATCH, THE
PAGAN OF THE HILLS, A
PORTAL OF DREAMS, THE
ROOF TREE, THE
TEMPERING, THE
TYRANNY OF WEAKNESS, THE
WHEN BEAR CAT WENT DRY

COPYRIGHT, 1920, 1921, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN

_With the wish that it were a richer
and worthier tribute, this book is
lovingly and gratefully dedicated_

_TO MY WIFE_

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"She stood there a little shyly at first; as slender and as gracefully
upright as a birch" _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

"'Hit almost seems like,' she whispered, 'that ther old tree's
got a spell in hit--ter bewitch folks with'" 66

"Even Bas Rowlett, whose nerves were keyed for an ordeal, started
and almost let the leaning bridegroom fall" 114

"Dorothy flashed past him ... and a few seconds later he heard the
clean-lipped snap of the rifle in a double report" 186

THE ROOF TREE

CHAPTER I

Between the smoke-darkened walls of the mountain cabin stil