THE AUTOCRAT OF THE 

 EDDY. 



RAPEVINES and moonseeds and 

 VjT Virginia creepers tangle their 

 branches together over the prostrate form 

 of the old lichen-covered mill. The 

 thump and rumble of the soggy wheel 

 have not been heard in the quiet little 

 valley for many a year, and the water 

 splashes over the drippy alga-decked shaft 

 and through the holes in the dam, throw- 

 ing clouds of cooling spray into the warm 

 sunshine. 



Collecting its scattered forces the 

 stream bounds off among the rocks, 

 slides under the ferns, and tarries for an 

 eddy at the bend where the scraggy hem- 

 lock leans, giving the flecks of foam time 

 to circle about in the shade before they 

 are whirled away down stream again. 

 40 



