A Tale from the Skid way 59 



the car and trundle it into the mill. When 

 it had been put into place, he took his position 

 on the car beside the log and rode back and 

 forth while the old log was being sawed. 



When the saw was not in motion it was a 

 great silver disk, ragged as hooked and gleam- 

 ing teeth could make it, but when it was in 

 motion it was a misty blurr round as a cart- 

 wheel and without a sign of a tooth upon it. 



When the carriage moved forward and it 

 struck the butt-log of the ancient pine, it 

 howled in demoniacal glee and whenever it 

 struck a knot it fairly shrieked. 



One by one the white fresh boards were 

 sawed from the great log, until one was 

 reached that arrested the attention of the men 

 at the saw. 



In the middle of this board was a panel 

 where the wood was worn away and polished 

 as white as bone and quite as hard. 



"Look at that, Jim," said the sawyer to 

 his helper. " Pretty bad scar, ain't it? What 

 you guess did it? " 



" Fire," said the small boy on the carriage, 



