Aua. 5, XSHkj 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



95 



'em an' I'll load her jest fer the fun on 't." He took the : 

 big gun from its hooks and carefully measured in his 



f)alm a charge of powder from the great ox-horn, poured ; 

 t into the barrel and wadded it .with tow, dropped the 

 sinker? in one by one, wadded them and primed the 

 piece, i^Mle the boy'e eyes cli^sely followed every move- 

 toeht.. 



Maria heatd the clang and thud of the ifon tamfod and ; 

 jJeeted anxiously tiiroilgh the pantry dpof; 



"Why, fatlier, what be you a-duin'?" 



"I'm gittin' ready tu ta' keer ofii yte agin the wolf tackles 

 ye, M'rier," he chuckled scornfully. "Shet the door, - 

 M'rier, an' tend tu yer cookin' ; me an' bub's stan'in' guatd. " 

 He fondled the gun and wiped the dust from the barrel 

 with his coat sleeve. 



"Du ye wanter go awfle, gran'ther?" whispered .Josiah. 

 . The olcl mah nodded his head repeatedly without with- i 

 drawing his aim froni the Center of the oloek face. 



•' 'Sh-h-h , I know where your boots be. Ih thfe paoundin' 

 berrel in the back shed. I'll fetch 'em when ma goes down 

 sillier arter the taters." 



The grandsire's slow, senile stare gradually gave way to ; 

 a look of intelligence, and the two conspirators, in panto- ; 

 mime; enjnined secrecy. : 



Wondering at tlie sudden sileiide, Maria peeped through 

 a cranny of the door and saw the old man quietly seated 

 in his chair, and called to him as she bustled about her 

 work ; 



"I'm tiirrible glad you gin it up so sensible, father." 



"Sho, I hadn't no idee a-goin'. I was jest a-foolin' 

 JozefT. Ketch me a-goin' dawg huntin' along wi' that 

 mess o' idjits," and he winked hard at hla grandeon, who, ' 

 Under cover of the stove, was growing red with smothered 

 hlirth. _ . . 



"My sakes," said Maria, comihg otlt ahd Iddking at the 

 clock, "I mus' get the pei-taters and put that fish 

 a-fresh'nin'." 



As her step was heard on the last cellar stair, Josiah 

 stole out to the back shed and presently appeared with the 

 boots, which his grandfather drew on in tremulous haste, 

 while the boy, after driving the small children back into 

 the pantry and closing the door upon them, brought the 

 old mall's hat and Cahe. 



"Haint it lUcky Ruby's oVet to Bl'iggses? Hhrry'iipj 

 gtan'ther. Ma '11 be up in a minute," he whispered as he 

 hovered about the ancestral chair in a fever of excitement. 

 Then he opened the door and the old man passed out as 

 faoiseiessly aS his sthf jdints Woilld let hinij with his long 

 gun trailed in careftll avoidailce of lihtel ahd f)0§t§j jUst' as 

 the muffled thud of the last potato anhouhced the feUirlg of ! 

 the pan. 



"Can't I go with yoti, gran'ther?" Josiah asked eagerly; 

 but his heart sank as he read refusal written in the stern ^ 

 hali: regretful, fatie beUt upon him; ^ 



"Uouldh t, nohow, sonhy,- 't-<^buldn't dh ^hf good an' 

 might du hurt. Them idjits '11 shoot awful keerless an' 

 might hit you. You gwup an' look aouten the saouth 

 garret winder, an' you c'n see Haidge Hawg Cobble 

 Ayhere they say the wolf's lyin' up. Naow go an' tell 'em 

 I've gone aOht tu th»? barn, an so I hev, an' mebby, a ' 

 leetle beyehd. tie gave the boy an apprbvihg p&i on the 

 head that gave some comfort, though it drove the coarse 

 seal-skin cap over his eyes. 



The veteran's departure was covered by the barn, from 

 the ohset'vation of the intiiatea of the hoiiie. As he 

 blodded aer-bsa the snowy fields his thoughts went back to 

 the old days of humble; lirtreUuited hefOlShl; Vvhm he 

 hiarclied -With Wai'nel' and his i3^reen Mountain boys to 

 dfthada. In a liiisty day dreani he saAv the frozen level 

 of Champlain stretchmg ill lifeless iotifeLlnesB bekitid tjle 

 rangers' march, the Wintty gloijm And desolatioii of th^ 

 forest opening to iheni the only path beyond. He heard 

 h,^ain the click and swish of snowshoes, the low caUtioUs 

 word of command drifting back alon^ the triplfe files; 

 For a httle space it quickened his pHl«e aild |jaCe, and for 

 a moment he was yoUhg again, till tired by climbing a 

 high rail fence, he leaned against the nearest stump to 

 i^est, and realized that he was but a feeble old man, the 

 superannuated, sole survivor of the band, to follow whom 

 he lingered a little on the verge of the eternal mystery. 



"A goo' for nothin' ol' critter as orter stay tu hum wi' 

 womern an' younguns," he sighed, half minded to turn 

 back, when his eye was caught by a moving speck far 

 away toward Hedge Hog Cobble. Something familiar in 

 the movements of the distant object drew upon it the 

 veteran's closest scrutiny. 



'•Tiiat haint no dawg, it's tew big for a fux. By the 

 Lord Harry, it's a wolf, an' he's a comin' stret tu me." 



"He sank stitHy behind the stump and cocked his gun 

 while he steadfastly watched the beast's swift approach. 

 Now he could see the wild, cunning eyes, now the red 

 tongue hanging slavering from the white-fanged jaws, 

 and now he aimed, witli all the skill that eye and nerve 

 could command, just before the pointed nose, and with a 

 prayer as devout as he ever uttered, pulled the trigger, as 

 with swift, long lopes the wolf ran past, fifty j'ards away. 

 With a snarling yelp, a long, floundering fall and a 

 ^quicker recovery of his feet, with a broken foreleg help- 

 lessly dangling, the wolf charged wildly at the fence, 

 clung a luoiiiont to the top rail, feU back, and then 

 plunged at the nearest but too narrow interstice between 

 the rails. Tiie impetus of the leap drove him half way 

 through, but there he was caught at the hips. He jiushed 

 desperately with the uninjured foreleg and clawed vainly 

 with his hindfeet for a hold on the nether rail and was 

 slowly worming his way through when Gran'ther Hill 

 pounced upon him, seizing him by both hindlegs, and 

 bracing his own feet against the fence he held on and 

 shouted lustily for help at the top of his high-pitched, 

 tracked voice. 



The wolf writhed from side to side, and snapped his 

 ^wicked jaws within two feet of his captor's hands, with- 

 .out being able to harm liim, but his struggles were fast 

 lexiiausting the strength of the old man, who, almost in 

 .despair, saw the prize slipping, inch by inch, through the 

 fence. 



Then he heard rapid steps, and tiirnuig his head hp saw 

 Pelatiah's lank figure close beside him. 



"Ketch a holt here, quick," he gasped. 



Pelatiah lent one strong hand to his relief and the old 

 man loosed his hold, and snatching the gun from Pela- 

 tiali staggered to the fence, and with a cruelly deliberate 

 aim at three feet range bored the wolf's skull with the 

 heavy charge of buckshot. "There," lie panted, as with 

 a grim smile he regarded the last struggles of his victim 

 -when Pejatiali had drawn it forth from the fence, "he 

 know? Hapw what he get^ by ruaain' agin a feal oV-fash- 



ioned huutef. g'pose he cal'lated the' want none left an' 

 the' haint on'y olie< But I'm almighty glad you come, 

 young Goove, fer 1 was tilgh abaout tuckered, an' ef I 

 bed tu let go, the critter might ha' flummised along a 

 good piece afore I c'ld ha' loaded up. Good lord," he 

 gasped aghast at the sudden recollection that he had no 

 ammimition, "I hedn't another charge. Wal, I be ^lad 

 you come, young Gove. Where's the rest of the idjits? 

 Git up outer the fence an' holler like a loon." 



Pelatiah's triumphant shouts soon brought in the fore- 

 most of the straggling pursuers, who, as they beheld the 

 dead wolf and heard the stofy of his death were variously 

 moved with admiration of his slayef 'a prowess and chagrin 

 for their own lack of it. 



"By the gre't horn spoon!" cried Sam, stroking the 

 wolf's gaunt side almost tenderly and looking up at the 

 old man's serenely happy face, "I'd ha' gi'n the ol' Ore 

 Bed tu ha' shot the critter myself, but I do' know but I'm 

 gladder you done it, Cap'n Hill." 



' '1 reckon 'at my chances is gettin' a leetle scaaer 'n 

 yourn, Sammy. But you might profit more by them 'at 

 you git ef I'd bed the bringin' on you up. I consait 

 you hed the makin's of a hunter in ye ef ye'd on'y bed 

 me er even Peleg Sunderland ta edicate your nat'ral 

 gifts." 



"Hooray for Danvis!" roared John Dart as he came 

 upon the sceue. "Adams, ner Pocock, ner nary other 

 town can twit us at losih' aoUT wolf naow, Lovel. I was 

 growin' shameder an' shameder tU meet any on 'en, an' 

 was studyin' more lies tu tell 'em 'an I c'ld ever ben for- 

 give for under any circumstances. You've saved the 

 credit of your taown, Cap'n Hill, an' mebby my soul." 



"Gol dumb sech savin'," Beri Burton growled. "Danvis 

 haint got much tu brag on when it's got tu ressureck the 

 dead a'most, tU kill a wolf." 

 "Shet yer head," Dart growled, savagely. 

 "An' ball aout the infants," Beri persisted. "He 

 wouldn't er shot et trolf if that aire shimble-shanked Gove 

 boy hedn't er hel' his laigs." 



"He'd waounded him, so 't he couldn't but jest go, an' 

 he'd got him e'en a'most killed when I come Up," Pelatiah 

 magnanimously protested. 



"It was some prooty good lucky, dat wolf's ant be one 

 loUp gaf oU, You'll can' keel dat kan o' wolfs 'less you'E 

 shot it widsiltei- ball." 



"Well, I swan that was lUcky," said Dart, "I don't be- 

 lieve you could rake up a charge o' silvet atnoug^t the 

 hull bilin' of us, I don't s'pose copper change '11 pass wi' 

 them aire thingumbobs, would it, Antwine? Wal,3 le's 

 stdp oltf gab an start aour caravan. We've got tu show 

 tu the ■i'illage this attetnoon. Where's Captain Peck?" 



"Skinned it fer hUril,- half ah hout ago," some one 

 answered. 



"Wal, let him go. I was goin' tu propose 'at We fifed 

 a e'lute, but nev' mind. Who's got a gun 's long 's Caf/n 

 Hill's? , Fetch it here. Lay it daown 'longside o' his'n. 

 Naow, lay tne ^olf top en 'em. Naow, Cap'n Hill, you 

 set top o' the wolf." 



"Yes, du." "Yes, du," other voices sKotited With Dart. 

 The hero of the day rather reluctantly complied. 



"Ketch a holt o' the muzzles, Lovel, an' I'll take the 

 butts. Up he goes," and the veteran hunter and his grim 

 quarry were lifted aloft and borne forward, amid the 

 chorus of the party. 



"What's up?" Joseph HiU panted, breathless with his 

 exertions to overtake his comrades. 



"Your superannual ancient sire is, Jozeflf," said Solon, 

 "him an' the wolf. Haint you beam haow he slewed 

 him?" 



"f*0od Lofd," Joseph groaned; recognizing the elevated 

 countehanfce of his fatbel-, his eye§ anxiously sought his 

 feet. 



Catching sight . of him the old man bent upon him a 

 fl-dwh; thfe sevel-ity df which Was spmewhn.'; softened by 

 the pride of his achieverhent, and laUghed down at him 

 scornfully, "You ondutiful leetle cuss, you hid my boots, 

 did you? Did you s'pose a man 'at had took Ticonderogue 

 an' fit tu Ben'nt'n an' went tu Canady 'long wi' Seth 

 Warner an' hunted Tories Avi' Peleg Sunderland, couldn't 

 smell aout his own boots? You must be an almighty smart 

 boy." 



Though conscious that his artifice was justified by his 

 headstrong father's infirmities, Joseph feU to the rear in 

 confusion, and the procession continued its triumphal 

 progress to Joel.Bartlett's. 



Uncle Lisha had waddled forth to meet it, roarmg a 

 welcome that was heard at every house in the neighbor- 

 hood. When Joel beheld the grim trophy he was startled 

 trom his accustomed propriety by the whistle that escaped 

 unwittingly from the long puckered lips. 



"Friends," he said, chanting in the monotonous tone 

 in which his sermons were set, "I feel to thank you, one 

 an' all, for a-girdin' on your swords an' a-goin' forth tu 

 battle against the beasts of the field which they ravage 

 aour folds, an' as it ware, spile our barnyards. I thank 

 you, friends, for a-stretchin' forth your carnal weepons in 

 behalf of a man whose ways has been more led mitu the 

 plowshare an' the prunin'^hook 'an tu the sword an' the 

 spear. There's suthin' due more 'n thanks tu mortal man, 

 an' I feel it bore in on me tu ask you, one an' all, tu enter 

 my haouse" (as he paused and ran his eye over the com- 

 pany, as if making a mental computation of its numbers 

 and capacity, more than one hungry stomach yearned for 

 the anticipated offering of doughnuts and cheese) "an' get 

 intu the quiet an' render silent thanks tu Him 'at has been 

 pleased to reward your indivors with victory. Arter 

 which," Joel continued after a solemn pause, "Jemimy, 

 my wife, will pervide some sustenance for your carnal 

 bodies, tu which you will be most welcome." 



Few were inclined to accept the invitation to a repast 

 the first course whereof was likely to be long and unsatis- 

 fying to their present need, and so with thanks and ex- 

 cuses almost all hastened to avail themselves of the more 

 exhilarating and substantial refreshments that were to be 

 found at the tavern and store. 



Gran'ther Hill's crown of laurels was further weighted 

 with fresh contributions, some sprigs of which he gener- 

 ously permitted to adorn the youthful brow of Pelatiah, 

 and" was more content to enrobe himself in the misty 

 glories of the past alone, than to share these present 

 flimsy honors with another. , R. E. Robinson. 



Forest axd Stream in its issue of June 29, records its high apprecia- 

 tion of ]\lr. Charles HalJoclr, the founder of tliat journal. Anglers 

 throughout the land will heartily concur in this by no means too florid 

 estimate of the exceptional gifts which have elevated Mr. Halloek to 

 the distinguished position which he occupies in all that relates lo pis- 

 ' catorial accomplishment, whether as skilled in the craft, or as a lucid 

 ■ and l98fiie^ writer on topics pertaifljng thereto.— iVeu; York Sw, J^lly 0. 



A STORM. 



Out of the sky to the westward 

 Came rolling the ordnance of God, 

 Snow white, ink black, 

 Like a demon pack, 

 Leading a host of souls long lost 

 Through a land no man hath trod. 



Never a leaf in the treetops 

 Stirred in the awful quiet. 

 Nor voice of bird 

 Or of beast was heard, 

 But only the moan and the undertone 

 Of heaven's great powers run riot. 



Moved as by some dread foreseeing, 

 A trembling falls on the forest, 

 Then a nearer flash, 

 A swift, sharp dash 

 Of wind-tossed rain through the ripened grain, 

 And the charge rushes breast to breast. 



Trees hold up their arms in pleading, 

 But the wind smites them down at a breath. 

 No pity knowns he 

 For man or tree, 

 In crazy revels with legions of devils 

 He whirls in his fierce dance of death. 



A horror sweeps over nature, 

 And the heart is deep burdened with glodm; 

 While the great gun crash 

 And the wild lights flash, 

 And a cry uprolls, like a shriek of souls 

 At the sound of the trumpet of doom. 



Out of that Stygian blackness, 

 As swift as the fall of a star, 

 Speeds down white hot 

 One fatal- shot. 

 And a life all bright goes out with the light 

 To stand at the judgment bar. 



Grows silent the din of the battle. 

 The smoke di-if ts away overhead, 

 Sweet flowers look up, 

 A gem in each cup, 

 A bird song floats from a thousand throats — 

 And I am here alone with my dead. 



J, H. La Koche. 



"PODGERS" TELLS A TALE OF WOE. 



San Francisco, July 6. — The only possible merit I can 

 see in a noisy Fourth of July, with its nuisance of small 

 boy and firecrackers, is the holiday it brings, and the 

 possibilities of a fishing trip. This year we were particu- 

 larly fortunate, Saturday being a half-holiday, then 

 Sunday and the Fourth on Tuesday. Monday was declared 

 a holiday also, thrown in as it were, giving four good 

 square days for an outing. What a blessing to the hard- 

 worked young men, although for that matter holidays are 

 not scarce with us. What with the New Year, February 

 •M, Labor Day, Decoration Day, July 4 and Christmas we 

 are almost as bad as the Mexicans, who it is said use up 

 about 260 out of the 365 days of the year in fiestas and 

 saints' days. Their saints are very numerous, and are 

 well remembered. 



1 always leave some one else behind me to celebrate. 

 My patriotism oozed out years ago, having been slightly 

 discouraged by the unparliamentary proceeding on the 

 part of another youth of about my size dropping a portion 

 of a lighted pack of firecrackers down the slack of 

 a pair of rather loose-fitting trousers converted over 

 from my older brother's. This, by the way, is, or was in 

 my time, one of the trials of the soul of the small boy, 

 and a perpetual burning indignity in his estimation, to be 

 thus relegated to his older brother's outgrown clothes. • 

 In my opinion this being obliged to wear older brothers' 

 clothes, warmed over as it were, has caused a great loss 

 to the world of able men, who were thus nipped in the 

 bud, and failed in the promise of greatness, caused by the 

 depressing influence of made-over clothes upon the mind 

 and character of the small boy. In these days of cheap 

 clothing for boys there is less of that sort of thmg, and 

 boys are emancipated from this discouraging feature, and 

 hence there is more manhness. 



But pardon the digression. The trousers I wore on the 

 occasion referred to had slack enough behind and around 

 the waist to accommodate several packs of firecrackers. 

 The chap that exhibited the dancing turkeys (a great 

 wonder, until it was discovered that a hot stove top cov- 

 ered with sand caused the dancing) would have engaged me 

 at a large salary if he had seen me dance. It requires but 

 a dull imagination to see the effect naturally resulting. 

 It was what might truly be called "a warmer," and the 

 famfly cat had unlimited and undisputed possession of 

 my special chair, for the next two weeks. I took no in- 

 terest in chairs, and dined from the bottom of an inverted 

 wash tub in the kitchen. 



What of the small boy who struck out for an original 

 exhibition of patriotism? Well, we will draw the curtain 

 over events that followed immediately, while the subject 

 was fresh in my mind and trousers. There was another 

 boy missing from school for the next two weeks, during 

 which time there was an unusual demand for raw beef 

 and flaxseed poultices. I never see a small boy on the 

 Fourth very industriously doing his level best to blow 

 himself up and blmd aU those sm-rounding him that my 

 mind does not run back to my juvenile experience, and I 

 at once wish myself out of town, and generaUy get there, 

 as I did on this occasion, which I am going to tell you all 

 about as soon as I get to it, which you are hoping will be 

 soon. I suppose so. There are two things that are ever 

 a diawback on the inclination of scribblers to be garru- 

 lous, one is the everlasting nuisance of having to think 

 how much space am I going to occupy and to be obhged 

 to write to measure, as your clothes are made, and the 

 other is the proneness of the leathery conscience _ of the 

 editor, who cuts you down and cuts you up as if your 

 article was a piece of cheese. 



But to my story. Meeting a friend in the street a few 

 days before' the Fourth, we mutually deprecated the idea 

 of remaining in town on that noisy day, and the confer- 

 ence finally resulted in an agreement to go for a raid on 

 the tro^t. My friend had been told of a stream away 

 back in the mountains in Sonoma cotmty— far enough 

 away we thought, to be out of reach of the pot-fishermen. 

 So on Saturday two men whose fishing outfit proclaimed 

 them Ij^aaks, could havf? beefi se^n (had any one car^d tq 



