ALONG THE BEACH 123 



which he had toddled over a mile or 

 more of loxiesome road twice a day at the 

 age of five. On the left was the farm of 

 his nearest neighbor. " Dun know who 

 lives there now," he drawled, — as if he 

 were a century instead of thirty-four years 

 old. After we had worn out the landscape 

 and tales of his childhood, and the conver- 

 sation was running low, I ventured to ask 

 the weight ol our charioteer, who so com- 

 pletely filled the front seat of the wagon 

 as he sat half turned about with one eye 

 to the horse and one to us. One draws 

 near the heart of man when he leads him 

 to speak of his own human power, and his 

 face lit up as he said, " Wal, guess how 

 much I do weigh." " Two hundred and 

 seven," I said, after taking him in from head 

 to foot. " One Jiundred and ninety " was 

 my companion's guess. " Two hundred 

 and sixty-five, and all muscle," was his 

 proud reply. "And I have not found a 

 man in five years who can pinch my leg." 



If a marsh hawk had not sprung from 

 a dead stub and sailed away, I do not 

 believe we would have ever begun our 

 tramp. 



After rumbling through the fields of the 



