April 26, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



267 



[Jisappearing. Now and then a stout pine "branch would 

 be twisted from a tree and whirled away like a feather. 

 A. bird which tried to rise from beside the trail was ! 

 hrown to the earth, and crouched by a tuft of grass as 

 bhey passed within two feet of it. 



It seemed to blow harder each minute, and the shocks 

 !Q the horses increased, so that sometimes in riding down 

 i steep coulee where the trail was narrow and sidling, 

 ihere really seemed danger that the horses might be 

 ;hrown off the trail. Yo declared that, while he had 

 seen in many a gale at sea and had Been cyclones at work 

 n Nebraska, he had never encountered a wind which 

 slew as tins one did. Jack said he thought he reinem- 

 sered one as bad, which picked up an empty east-iron 

 Book stove lying on the ground, lifted it over the wagon 

 from which it had been unloaded, and carried it 100yds. 

 Some little relief from the wind's violence was obtained 

 by galloping fast, and both men were glad to reach the 

 tent and get the saddles off the horses. 



So day after day the men waited, and watched the dy- 

 ing snowflakes and listened to the howling of the winds 

 or the monotonous patter of the rain drops on the tent. 



Yo. 



REMOVAL. 



fThe offices of Forest and Stream are now at No. 318 Broadway. 



Every person who is sufficiently interested in the National 

 3 «rfc to do his share toward, securing protection for it, is in- 

 cited to send for one of the Forest and Stream's petition 

 blanks. They are sent free. 



SAM LOVEL'S CAMPS— VIII. 



FROM the dark clouds a veil of rain had fallen, com- 

 pletely hiding the distant mountains and the 

 furthest western shore, while it had begun to flatten 

 the nearer crags of Split Hock into a sheer wall whose 

 even tint of dull gray was broken only by the white shaft 

 of the lighthouse and the dull Mash of the waves which 

 ithe corning wind hurled against the point of the rugged 

 promontory. Beyond the advancing veil whitecaps 

 gleamed out of the obscurity, and out of it scudded a 

 Bloop with close-reefed sails and anchored in the shelter 

 of Thompsons Point. 



When the frequent flashes of lightning quivered down 

 from the sky. it was as if the veil was torn with jagged 

 rents that for an instant revealed a conflagration of the 

 universe. Incessant peals of thunder rolled in repeated 

 bursts and muttering growls, swelling and dying in 

 echoes from cloud, mountain and headland, with a con- 

 tinuous undertone of the roar of wind and waves on 

 distant woods and rock-bound shores. The wind, yet 

 unfelt hy the castaways, sent the hurrying clouds in a 

 wide majestic sweep across the sky till all the sunlit 

 blue was blotted out and the landscape was overspread 

 with a gloom more awful than the darkness of night, 

 flashing hito instants of distinctness when wind-swept 

 waves and clouds and trees, for a pulse beat, stood still 

 in the white fire of the lightning. Then catspaws ruffled 

 the black, still waters near tbem, a brief patter of big 

 drops fell like leaden plummets on water, rocks and 

 leaves, and then all at once the lake seethed at their 

 feet, the lithe branches of the birches streamed to wind- 

 ward of their bending trunks, and the sturdy cedars 

 tossed in brief resistance as the long-driven slant of the 

 storm burst upon them. 



Sam and Pelatiah were drenched before they could 

 reach the partial shelter of the nearest clump of cedars, 

 which only broke the force of the wind, while every 

 hranch and twig seemed to become a conduit to pour, 

 dribble and drip down their backs and upon their knees 

 every raindrop the tree caught. 



"I don't s'pose it's nothin' tu what they hed time o' the 

 Hood," said Sam, wiping his wet face with a wetter coat 

 sleeve, but I du feel more'n I ever did afore, for the poor 

 creeturs 'at was aouten the ark." 



"I guess I've got tu the hayth o' wetness," Pelatiah 

 said, as with his chin on his knee he regarded the water 

 overflowing from the tops of his boots, into which his 

 trousers were tucked, "fer my boots is a runnin' over. O, 

 gol dum it, I druther milk all aour caows in the rain 'an 

 tu be squattin' here, like a draowndedgoslin', jes' ferfun. 

 Dum sech fun!" 



With such dolorous discourse and with watching the 

 •storm they whiled away a half hour of discomfort. 

 Through the loop holes of their poor shelter they could 

 isee nothing but the blown and pelted trees and rocky 

 bounds of then.- island, and a little beyond these the seeth- 

 ing, angry sweep of the waves, whose wince crests and 

 black furrows faded into the graj r downpour and fleeting 

 drift of the rain, and it was as if this patch of rocks and 

 earth was all that was left to them of the stable world 

 whose blue mountains, green woods and fields and sunlit 

 waters an hour ago had shone about them. Then the 

 fury of the wind abated somewhat, the rain hissed less 

 angrily upon the hurrying waves, the torn clots of black 

 clouds swept more slowly across the sky, grew more 

 infrequent, then had all passed by; the nearest headland 

 was dimly revealed, vaguely defined shores reappeared 

 and again clasped the bay, a distant field was lighted by 

 a gleam of sunshine and shone through the vapor in 

 golden green, the leaden hue of the waves turned to liv- 

 ing blue and green, and as the last growl of the retreating 

 storm was muttered among the eastern mountains, the 

 sunlight came sweeping over all the landscape. 



Sam and his companion crept from under their roof of 

 dripping branches and stretched their cramped limbs in 

 the genial warmth of the rekindled sunlight, while they 

 scanned] the lake hi hope of seeing some friendly craft 

 that might come to their rescue. But no vessel of any 

 sort was in sight save the sloop that had taken shelter 

 inside Thompson's Point, and which, if not beyond their 

 hail, was unmindful of it, now spread its white wings to 

 the fresh northern breeze and sailed away to the south- 

 ward. 



Her captain and crew they had never had speech with 

 nor seen, but at such a distance that they were unrecog- 



nizable specks, presumably men, who might be white or 

 black, brother Yankees, 'Yorkers or Canadians, for all 

 they could make out concerning them, but they, too, had 

 suffered the fury of the storm, and as the bellying sails 

 bore them away, passing out of sight behind the cliffs, a 

 heavier sense of loneliness fell upon Sam and Pelatiah. 



Sam found a few dry matches in an inner pocket and 

 was enabled to comfort himself with a pipe, a solace 

 which was denied Pelatiah, as was also the rumination 

 of Ins cud for which he vainly searched his pockets, re- 

 membering at last that he had given his only remaining 

 piece of gum to the faithless Louisa. Far better, he 

 thought, than if ho had it, if she was now chewing it and 

 was reminded by it of him, Would she feel any anxiety 

 concerning him if he did not return that night, as it now 

 seemed probable he could not, and be sorry that she had 

 been unkind? Or would she and all of them think that 

 he was careless of his word or had deliberately broken it? 

 This seemed the likelier chance and again he groaned 

 aloud, "O, gol dum sech fun!" 



Standing on the south shore and looking toward the 

 mouth of Little Otter, they saw two figures on the beach 

 to the westward of it which they made out to be Solon 

 and Joseph. They were moving excitedly about in the 

 neighborhood of an object which Sam presently guessed 

 to be the scow, stranded on the shallows. The favoring 

 wind bore Sam's hail to them, and though their answer 

 could not be heard, they could be seen frantically swing- 

 ing their hats, delighted at the assmance of the safety of 

 their friends, and Sam laughed to think of what he could 

 not quite see, how Joseph was prancing about like an up- 

 reared mud turtle, and of the big words he knew Solon 

 must be uttering. 



Then they were seen to wade out to the scow, bail out 

 the water it had shipped, board it, shove it into deeper 

 water and then with a heroic endeavor to practice the 

 lessons of Uncle Tyler, attempt to row to the island. It 

 soon became evident that they might as well have under- 

 taken so to voyage to the moon, for they clawed the air 

 more than the water with the oars, making no progress, 

 but in irregular circles which, if they should become wide 

 enough, were as likely to take them out into the broad 

 lake as to the island. 



Sam became more alarmed for them than for himself 

 and Pelatiah, and roared to them to get back to the shore 

 if they could. When they comprehended his instructions 

 they were fortunately in shoal water, and more effectually 

 using the oars as setting poles they happily succeeded in 

 beaching the scow on the sands at the foot of the bluff. 

 Then Sam shouted to them in well separated words, 

 slowly delivered between his hollowed hands: 



"When — An— twine— gits— back (if he ever does an' 

 haint parlyvooed hisseLf to death," taking his hands 

 down and also taking breath as he addressed this aside 

 to Pelatiah), "hev— him — come — over — arter— us— with — 

 the — scaow ! Du — you — hear?" 



When they had taken time to ponder the message, Sam 

 caught their faint "yes" making its way against the 

 buffets of the wind. 



"Naow, Peltier," he said, "le's dress aour parch, you 

 wanter save that Swago, right here where the sun '11 dry 

 us an' make us a fire an' hev us a hot dinner." 



In the lee of the blooming thicket they set about scal- 

 ing their fish. So ahsor bed in their occupation or with far 

 away thoughts they took no note of the unobtrusive 

 sounds about them, the wash of the subsiding waves, the 

 rustle of the leaves and the songs of the vireos among 

 them. Once they thought they heard mixed with these 

 the thump of oars, but listening they heard no more. 



Presently they were startled by the tramp of stumbling, 

 heavy feet, the noise of spades and a crowbar thrown 

 down, and then as one pair of feet came to a halt quite 

 near them, a loud nasal voice broke out: 



"O, look a-here! John-ah, Job-ah, here's seas an' 

 oceans an' thaousan's o' Seneky snake rhut, I vaow!" 



A v nce that greatly resembled that of the first speaker, 

 though it sounded more familiar to Pelatiah, answered 

 impatiently : 



"O, darn your Seneky snake rhut-ah! We got suthin' 

 'at's more 'caount 'an ornary rhuts tu tend tu; what the 

 Bible calls the rhut of all evil is what we're arter-ah. 

 Come here an' le's git tu diggin' right stret off -ah, 'fore 

 some darn fool comes shoohn' raound. I ruther guess, 

 Jethro, 'at you an' Job, Junior, hed better dig-ah, an' I'll 

 keep watch- ah, bein' 'at I'm the sharpest sightedest an' t' 

 the spine o' my back's kinder lame-ah." 



Peeping under the bushes, Sam and Pelatiah saw, stand- 

 ing quite near them, a tall, awkward lout, who with a 

 face expressive of green conceit and low cunning re- 

 garded the patch of medicinal herbs that spread their 

 broad leaves before him, and just beyond him, above the 

 undergrowth, the heads and shoulders of two others of 

 the same unfinished strong build, the same expression of 

 conceit and cunning, with a little drying of the green- 

 ness that more years had given, unmistakably elder 

 brothers of the one who had spoken first. 



'•I haint a-goin' tu dig a darned inch-ah," said this one, 

 still gloating over his discovery of herbs, an aromatic 

 root of which he had pulled and was crunching with 

 swinish voracity, "erless I'm a-goin' tu hev a third o' all 

 the money we get-ah; so there." 



"Naow, gol darn it all, Jethro-ah," said the oldest 

 brother, coming nearer and halting, while the swing of 

 his arms gradually abated like the subsiding beats of a 

 pendulum, "what's the use o' your bein' a nat'ral-bom 

 fool-ah, if you know anything? Who tol' us where we 

 was a-goin' tu find all the money 'at Bennydick Arnil hid 

 here, when he was a-retreatin'-ah? Wa' n't it Sairy, 

 Sleepin' Sairy, when Job, Junior, hed gin her the inflew- 

 erence-ah?" 



Evidently Jethro could not gainsay this, and main- 

 tained a sullen silence. "Wall, then," his brother con- 

 tinued, '"t wouldn't be no more 'n fair fer her tu hev half 

 on't-ah, for haow'ld we ever ha' faound it 'f 't hedn't 

 been for her-ah? Say, you darned off ox-ah!" 



"Wal, we haint faound it, hev we-ah? We've got tu 

 dig for 't, haint we-ah?" Jethro demanded with a sar- 

 •| castic grin. 



"Gol dam ye!" cried John, "we would ha' hed it 'f 

 ; you'd heF your plegged gab-ah. A speakin' jes' 's the 

 j crowbar hit the chist, an' then of course it moved, jes' 'a 

 ' any tarnal fool might ha' knovved it would-ah. But 



we're agoin' tu git it naow 'f you c'n keep yer hed shet a 

 1 spell, an' all 't we ast is a quarter on 't for Sairy, jest a 

 | ekal divided quarter, 'n' one fur me 'n' one fur you 'n' one 



fur Job, Junior-ah. An' that's more'n fair. Neow, 



haint it Job-ah?" 



"Wall-ah," answered Job, "I 'low 't is, that is to say 

 fur you, bein' 'at Sairy's your womern, which it jes' in 

 fac' gives you half-ah, a hull half -ah! I wanter ast, 

 naow, who give Sairy the mess miricle inflewernce-ah? 

 'Twan't you, not by a jug full." 



"Jes' so," said Jethro. 



"Ah, wal-ah, strickly speakin', it wa'n't exakly me," 

 the eldest reluctantly admitted, "but I furnished the 

 womern, which she is the mess miricle subjeck." 



"I'm goin' tu hev a third on't," Job emphatically re- 

 asserted, "erless I'll go an' tell Annerniees, an' break up 

 the trade for the islan', which I can, bein' 'at the' haint 

 no writin' 's drawed yit. So there-ah." 



This threat seemed to strike dumb him whom they 

 called John, but after swelling and choking with rage 

 for a little, speech returned. 



"Job an' me hed ort tu kill ye an' heave ye int' the 

 lake, so we hed-ah!" but Job did not assent to this sim- 

 ple method of settling Jethro's claim, and John went on 

 somewhat less angrily. "Wal, condarn ye, take a third, 

 take it, you tarnal hawg, an' be damned, 'f you wanter 

 take the bread aouten your brother's maouth 'at's allers 

 bin your guardien an' the mainstay o' the fam'ly sence 

 the ol' man yer father, Job, Senior, died! Take it, dam 

 ye, hut go to diggin' 'fore some fool comes gawpin' 

 raound. An' keep yer head shet when ye git tu diggin'!" 



Sam now whispered to Pelatiah that if they were to 

 get these men to help them to return to the mainland it 

 would be best to enter upon negotiations at once, before 

 the treasure seeking was begun, and of which they must 

 pretend complete ignorance. 



Crouching low, they stole silently away to some little 

 distance and then noisily made their way toward the 

 money-diggers, who were now gathered about the pit, 

 which Sam and Pelatiah had noticed in their survey of 

 the island. 



"Haow are ye? I'm turrible glad to eoe ye!" Sam said, 

 heartily. 



"Where in thunder an' chain lightnin' did you como 

 from-ah?" demanded the eldest of the brothers, surprised, 

 shame-faced, yet half defiant. "What ye duin' here? 

 Clear aout! This is aour islan'! we jest bought it an' we 

 haint agoin' tu 'low anvbody on it-ah stealim cedar pos's 

 an' raisin' Cain-ah. We'll sue 'em fur trespuss, yes, sir, 

 we will, an* you'd better put 'er." 



Sam hastened to explain that he and his comrade had 

 come there fishing, that their boat had gone adrift 

 in the storm , and that all they wanted of the island was 

 to rid it of themselves; now how much would they ask 

 to set them ashore at the mouth of Little Otter? 



"Wal-ah," said the self constituted mouthpiece of the 

 three, "we come here a-fishin' tew, got aout o' worms an' 

 come ashore tu dig some here," indicating the pit with a 

 sweep of his arm. "We alius carry tools for diggin' 

 worms," with another sweep in the direction of the spade 

 and crowbar. "A man orter be prepared for everything 

 when he goes a-fishin'-ah, but the' haint many 'at knows 

 'nouErh tu be. Naow, 'f you'd ha' ben prepared-ah, you 

 wouldn't ha' got ketched so." 



"Wal, no," said Sam. "If we'd ha' fetched lumber an' 

 tools to build another boat, we'd ha' ben all right, but 

 seein' 'at we didn't think on't, haow much be you goin' 

 tu charge tu take us over t' the crik? We got some fel- 

 lers over there 'at 's expectim of us, an' we're willin' tu 

 pay you reasonable tu take us over." 



"What be you a-duin' on here so many on ye-ah? I 

 don't like the looks on't. Don't ye tech nothin' on this 

 islan', not a cedar pos' nor not one stun-ah, nor dig none, 

 for we cal'late tu pastur sheep on't, an' we don't want it 

 all tore up-ah. It's all aour'n tu hev an' tu hoi', we, aour 

 heirs an' 'signs for ever, et cetery un' so forth-ah." 



Sam reasserted that he and his friend coveted nothing 

 that the island contained and repeated his query as to the 

 sum demanded for taking Pelatiah and himself away 

 from it, to which John did not at once reply, but con- 

 tinued to ask questions, for his inquisitiveness was as 

 craving as his acquisitiveness, "Where du ye live when 

 you're 't hum? I don't remember seein ye afore tu taown 

 ineetin', nor teamin', an' I don't b'lieve you b'long in 

 Lakefield-ah. You've got a kinder furrin aspeck, so to 

 speak-ah. Oh-ah, you live in Danvis du ye, an' come a 

 fishin' hey? Come to think on't this young man does look 

 kinder familler, an' I b'lieve I see him a sloshin' raound 

 after pickril up t' the East Slang las' spring. Wan't ye ? 

 Say-ah?" 



Pelatiah nodded an affirmative. 



"Wal," he continued, while he meditatively pawed the 

 earth with his big boot, "It'll bender us consid'able, hut 

 we wanter be 'commerdatin', an' seein' it's you, we'll take 

 ye over fur, le'me see, wal, tew dollars in money, seein' 

 it's you-ah." He announced his terms as if a sudden 

 burst of generosity had overcome his better judgment. 



"Seein' it's us," saidSam, with calm indignation, "we'll 

 sta y here till the lake freezes over an' Tophet tu, 'fore 

 we'll pay you tew dollars for a half hour's rowin'!" and 

 without further words he and Pelatiah turned away. 



They had gone some distance and Pelatiah was sug- 

 gesting that they should take the boat without leave, or 

 as he put it, "kinder borrer it for a spell" and make then* 

 escape, and then, towing it back with their own, restore 

 it to the owners; when they heard some one hastily fol- 

 lowing them in a clumsy attempt to do so stealthily. 

 Looking back they saw Jethro struggling through the 

 undergrowth, his arms at full swing where there was 

 space for them. 



"Say-ah! Hoi' on-ah!" he half grunted, half whispered, 

 and coming up to them, continued in the same tone, 

 "I'll take ye over for seventy-five cents in money- ah, 

 'f you'll give it tu me right in my own fist. Will ye, 

 say-ah?" - 



' I'll give ye fifty cenca»", said Sam, "an' pay ye soon as 

 you start." 



"Wal, gol darn it, fifty cents then. The ol' Capt'in 

 wouldn't gi' me a cent 'f'he'd got tew dollars. You shy 

 raound tu the boat in the cove on the north side, an' I'll 

 come in less 'n no time. Naow, don't ye let 'em see ye, 

 an' I'll fix it slicker 'n goose grease." And he retreated 

 while Sam and Pelatiah, gathering up their tackle and 

 fish silently, made a wide detour and gained the rendez- 

 vous. As silently they got on board the scow of the 

 money-diggers and, ready to shove it off if discovered by 

 the two elder brothers, awaited the coming of the 

 younger, Him they heard saying loudly, "I guess 'at 

 I'd better go ? n' see 'f them critters don't hook the scaow," 

 and then come threshing his way through the brush to 

 them. He clattered over the stony beach, shoved the 

 boat off, floundered on board, took the oars and after a 



