62 ALONG THE WATERWAYS 



being unharnessed, had jerked the bridle from my 

 hands, taken a long, and to herself satisfactory 

 roll in the water, and crossed to the other side! 



"I wonder who lived there?" queried Flower 

 Hat, looking at the little house that stood in the 

 narrow strip of land opposite the mill, between 

 road and rocks. The house was evidently aban- 

 doned, for the gate was nailed up ; but a worn 

 grindstone stood by the well and there was a strag- 

 gling mass of hardy old-fashioned flowers, strayed 

 evidently from a bit of garden at the south side. 



As I paused, unable to answer the question, 

 Time o' Year came along on his homeward way, 

 his cabin being a little farther on, Reading our 

 thoughts, he answered them, saying: 



"The Keeler folks lived here. Old lady died, 

 it must be three years back. Old man last spring. 

 All their folks gone long ago. Nothing left but 

 the posies to mind the old place, and soon that '11 

 shake down, and then the posies '11 have it all to 

 themselves. But I reckon she 'd 'a' liked it to be 

 that way; she was always very private. There 's 

 been many a house in Lonetown you 'd never 'a' 

 dreamed was there, only for the posies. They 're 

 always the last to leave." 



