144 
touch hoV of liees hJn' leg an' strack a stone wid hees 
head of it, sem any cats." 
Sammy couJd not lorbear expressing doubt as to this, 
"1 don t b'lieve anyb dy coulU kill our ol' brindle Tom 
so," he said. 
"Oh, yas; dat jes' heasy lak ile,"Antoine asserted, with 
perfect assurance. "Jtionly you got for be sure you keel 
it 'nough, 'cause cat gat nan life. Prob'ly dat loupcervier 
got for be keel 'baoui height more tarn, 'cause secti leetly 
boy hant be hable for keel it all up wid one shoot." 
Sammy found little satisfaction in acting as showman 
to such an audience, and slipped out quite uncere- 
moniously, whereupon Antoine went to the shop. Gran'- 
ther Hill retreated to the kitchen, but was not left long in 
peace, for presently Mrs. i'urington arrived, burdened 
with more than her usual "feelin's," which were not re- 
lieved when she heard a circumstantial acount of the kill- 
ing of the lynx. 
Heaving deep sighs during the recital, when it ended she 
said, "So that's what's come ttt the gaownd o' my own 
spinnin' an' weavin', which I colored it likewise wi' my 
own hands, tu be tore tu ribbons by wil' cats! An' that 
innercent child tu be led inter the jaws o' death, as it ware, 
by her own an' only brother arter him a-stealin' of his 
father's gun loaded dangerous ! Oh, dear me, suzzy day I 
But it hain't no more'n was tu be nat'rally expected, not 
one mite more ! What's goin' tu be become o' that 'ere boy 
is turrible tu think on !" 
Sniffing hard at her smelling bottle, she fixed a stead- 
fast, sorrowful gaze upon her grandson, who was begin- 
ning to realize that a hero's wreath is entwined with 
thorns. But Gran'ther Hill dulled their sharpness when 
glowering on Mrs. Purington, and emphasizing his words 
with a crescendo of thumps of his staff, he growled in his 
defense. 
"I'll tell ye what, marm, won't be become on him. He 
won't grow up no puddin'-headed, chicken-hearted, tew- 
good-for-tu-live sorter chap. He'll known which end of a 
gun shoots, an" haow tu shoot it, an' he won't be afeared o' 
the divil, an' if the' comes a time endurin' of his life 'at 
his country needs a sojer, she'll know where to find 
one, an' a mighty good one, tew, if some blasted ol* fool 
don't turn tu an' spile hira !" And he went stamping out 
doors and down the path. 
The lynx was taken to the store where Clapham was 
glad to keep it as long as he could for the customers it 
attracted. One day a college professor came from Bur- 
lington, and offered five dollars for the animal to place in 
the museum of his institution, and this, with the five 
dollars bounty paid by the State, constituted wealth which 
seemed inexhaustible, until Sammy learned that such a 
gun as he wanted would cost ten dollars. Then he knew 
how to invest it. but he felt that his sister ought to share 
it, and a gun would do her no good. 
Then one never-forgotten November day his father 
came home from Vergennes and brought from the old 
gunsmith Seavers a brand new fowling-piece with a per- 
cussion lock and a walnut stock and a silver sight — a 
beauty of a gun in those days. There was also a doll for 
Polly, with white and pink cheeks, cherry-red lips, real 
flaxen hair, and eyes as blue as the sky, and that could be 
made to shut in a way that was wonderful, if not life-like. 
She was clad in raiment which was a realization of 
Polly's dreams of Malviny's Avardrobe, and brought with 
her a tea set of the brightest pewter. 
Gun, doll and their outfits were the admiration of 
grown-up folk, and the happy owners made many of their 
young mates happy by sharing their use. Not that Sammy 
ever lent his gun to even his best friend, but going with 
it, for that was a rule his father taught him strict ad- 
herence to: nor that the new doll ever went abroad but 
in charge of her mistress ; nor the tea set ever lent except 
in her care, though there was not another dish in Danvis 
that 'ivas not freely lent in case of necessity. 
Rowland E. Robinson. 
(to be CONTINtJED NEXT WEEK.] 
Bill's Luck, 
BY EDAVARD A. SAMUELS. 
"Some one writ it out long ago that the lame and th^ 
lazy are provided for," said the old backwoodsman as 
we took our seats on the rustic benches in the porch o£ 
his little cabin lor our after-dinner smoke, "and its true 
as preachin'," he added. Not that Bill's lame, neither is he 
special lazy, but, somehow, things come his Avay, easy. 
"Bill was born under a lucky sLar, and he's got so uset 
to good luck that, duru the critter, he takes it as natral. 
as breathin'." 
"Bill ain't shlftles3, I'll say that for him ev'ry time, but 
he's easy goin' as 'twere, and he gits his share and more, 
too, without half try in'. 1 dessay you've seen sich afore 
now. 
"I could okkipy the hull arternoon tellin' 'bout Bill's 
luck"-— Bill was the old man's nearest neighbor — "but 
you'd get tired listenin' to it. 
"He had er hue of traps last Avinter over on the North 
Branch and along the side of Ball Mountain; his line Avas 
in a good trappin' section, but it run only 'bout six or 
eight miled. I had line all er ten niiled long and in a 
heap better fur kentry, but he got almost twicst as many 
pelts as I did. and without tryin' near as hard. _ 
"Why, he harf the time left his traps to run theirselves, 
while I tended mine, proper, right along, and kept um 
cleaned out ev'ry time snow fell. I thought, some days, 
I Avas doin' big Avork if I brung in er mink or two, or a 
fisher cat or an otter. Avhile Bill had ther critters rainin' 
down on him. I recken he got all of er couple or three 
hundred dollars' wuth in the season. He trapped ten 
fisher cats, fer sure, and twicst as many mink, not to men- 
tion musquash, foxes, and er couple of lucivee" {Loup- 
cervier) lynx. 
" 'Twas kind of aggravatin'. too, to see him come in, 
ca'm like and smokin' his pipe, lookin' as if he didn't 
care what he got. and he totein' six or eight nice pelts. 
"Bill and me was allers good friends; in fact, he was 
too easy goin' to make enemies or rub any one's fur the 
wrong way. but, all the same, I uset to kind'er feel as if 
I wasn't hardly gittin' my share, but 'twasn't any use 
kickin'. 
"Yes, things come Bill's way easy. There's a fanner 
over in Clifton who had a darter, or ruther an adopted 
darter, though she wasn't exactly adopted nither, only 
taken Avhen she was a young one out of some chanty 
home and given her clothes and keep and schoolin' fer 
what she could do around the house. 
"She grew up inter as fine er gal as you'd see in er 
day's journey, and ev'ry young man in these parts tried 
his level best to spark Avith htr. Oh, yes; she could have 
had her pick, and no mistake; but she vvould'nt have ary 
one of um; she acted just Hke a contrairy trout that won't 
rise to your best files, but jumps for some home made, 
ornery tly that is dropped near it. 
"Jess so with her. Bill got a'quainted with her at the 
county fair, and some how they seemed to hitch 
up tergether all 'twonst, and fust thing we knew, 
he was keepin' company wi th her, reglar, and, 
by gum, they wuz married in less than tAvo months 
from the time they fust met. Yes, Bill's luck was allers 
thar, but that streak ain't ended yit, fur lately thar was 
er lawyer over to thar house askin' er lot er questions of 
the gal, and it looks now as if she will come into er heap 
of money afore long, fur she turns out to be the only 
livin' heir of an old aunt who died richern mud. They 
traced the gal to ther charity home and then 'twas easy 
to find her arter that. Lor there's no eend to Avhat I 
could tell yer 'bout Bill's luck. Last spring he went 
doAvn ter York to sell what furs he had, and come to figger 
it up he had all of three hundred dollars' worth; and seein' 
he was goin', I let him take mine along to sell, too. My 
pelts was Avuth about two hundred dollars, so he had 
clost onto fiA^e hundred dollars' wuth all told. 
"When he got on ther train he went inter the 'smoker,' 
and 'twan't long afore he got a'quinted with two or three 
of the men in the car, and barnby they proposed a game 
er keeards. 
■' 'What yer want ter play?' ast Bilk 
" 'Oh, euchre, poker, high-low-jack, or any old game 
jest ter pass ther time,' sez one of 'em who turned out ter 
be er drummer goin' back to the city. 
" 'All right,' sez Bill. T don't mind, I kin play euchre 
sum, but never saw poker played, though I've heerd of 
it.' 
"Wall, it didn't take 'cm long to make up thar party 
and git seated at one of the tables. Bill had ther drum- 
mer for his pard'ner, and the other two players was a 
couple er cattle dealers. 
"They was a putty decent crowd to play keerds with, 
and Bill allowed he was havin' er good time. Wall, they 
played euchre fer an hour or so, when the drummer said 
it was gittin' kind er tejous like, and he thought it would 
liven things up if they'd change ter poker. 
" 'Oh/ sez Bill, 'I don't know the fust thing about 
poker. I told yer so afore.' 
" 'You can learn easy enuff,* spoke up one of the cattle 
men. 'All you've got to do is ter ketch on ter the valley 
of the keerds yer hold, and bet they're stronger than the 
other hands.' 
" 'That's gamblin', ain't it?' sez Bill. T never gambled 
in my fife.' 
" 'Oh,' sez the drummer, 'a few little bets on yer hand 
ain't no great sin, and they make ther game Tnore ex- 
citin', we'll make the limit a dollar, and that woij't break 
any one.' 
"Bill in his easy goin' way felt sort er 'shamed to be 
offish, and, finally, he 'greed to jine 'em in poker if they'd 
explain the pints as they went along. 
"Wall, they started in and 'twant long afore he knew 
how much two pairs Avas wuth, or three of er kind, or 
four of er kind and so on. I ain't no poker player and I 
can't give yer all the pints. I recken, however, yer know 
um yerself. 
"Bill larned putty qijick, and wen and lost putty even. 
Barmby he got four kings and he thought he'd resk five 
dollars; for, though. Bill's ginerally putty cautious he 
got kind er excited at holdin' such keerds. They played 
it out, but his hand wasn't good enough, fer the drummer 
held four aces. Bill sobered down sum at sich a bad set 
back, and said that after the next hand he gessed he'd 
stop. 
"Wall, the keerds was dealt agin, and Bill studied 
over his hand for a minit or two without sayin' nothin', 
then he arst ag'in about the valley of all the likely hands, 
and which one was the king pin of all. 
" 'Wall,' sez the drummer, 'if this is to be yer last 
hand ternight, I s'pose yer think its Avuth five dollars.' 
" 'Yes,' sez Bill. 'I'm putty green at poker I allow, but, 
as I'm to quit with this hand I'll say it's ten dollars the 
best in the lot.' 
"One of the cattle dealers said he'd draw out, but the 
other man thought that twenty dollars was about the 
proper caper, and he took out er big roll of bills and laid 
doAvn two tens. 
"The drummer dropped out at this, and then there 
warn't no one but the two in ther game. 
" 'I hain't got much more money,' sez Bill, arter he 
had studied out his hand agin', 'but here's twenty-five 
dollars more.' 
"That was the time he ought ter have called, but he 
was a little rattled and fergot to, and quicker'n shot the 
cattle dealer laid down three one hundred dollar bills. 
"Of course Bill could'nt cover the man's money nor 
anything like it. 
" 'You've got too much money for me,' sez he, putty 
sober, you may be sure, 'and I allow I'm beat. I've five 
hundred dollars' Avuth of fur in the baggage car, but I 
s'pose that can't go as money in this game.' 
"Now, as his luck would haA'C it, there was a Clifton 
merchant in the smoker, who was goin' to York to buy 
some goods. He knew Bill and knew if he said the fur 
was wuth five hundred dollars it was all right. 
"He came over to him and told him, after he'd seen 
his hand, that he'd lend him enough on the furs to call 
the cattle man if he'd like, and that gave Bill his chance. 
"Wall, to make the story short, he took the money and 
planked enough doAvn to call the other man's hand. 
" 'Here's what I'A^e got,' sez ther cattle dealer, 'and I 
hope this will be a lesson to you, young man, to never 
play poker for money agin,' and he laid down the ace of 
hearts, the king of clubs, the queen and jack of hearts 
and the ten of spades. 
" 'You're right,' sez Bill I've learned my lesson and 
you'll never ketch me bettin' on keerds agin,' and then 
he showed his hand; he held the ace, king, queen, jack 
and ten spot of diamonds. I think poker players call 
such a hand er 'royal flush/ at any rate Bill raked in the 
entire pot. 
"Yes, Bill's luck is allers thar. Last spring he had two 
or three traps set for bars; fer ther cnticrs had been 
takin' some of his sheep, and he 'llowed u was time to 
stop their pesky work. He tended the traps pretty well 
fer him, and one day, sure enutf, he found one of 'em 
gone. A bar had carried it off. 
"I spose yer know that a bar trap is hitched with a 
chain to a log of wood that is called a hobble; the bar 
when his foot is caught in the trap can drag tins along; 
not fast, of course, but he ken git away with it and he 
makes off the best he kin. But it the trap is chained fast 
to a tree the critter bites his paw off and leaves fer parts 
unknown, as the newspapers say about bank cashiers and 
sich like. 
"The hobble leaves signs all along where it is dragged, 
and it's easy enuff" to foller it. 
"Bill lighted his pipe and started after the bar, though 
he had nothin' but his axe Avith him. I tell yer 'taint 
allers safe follerin a trapped bar unless yer have a rifle 
along; but Bill didn't mind and he kept goin'. 
"The bar had traveled about er miled or more draggin' 
the hobble without bein' hung up, though thar was lots' 
of places whar it had got hitched around saplins and sich 
before Bill come to the big windfall that it was hidin' 
under. Sure 'nuff the fust thing he knew the critter was 
out from cover and jumpin' fer him. 
"Bill's plucky, fer sure, and he faced the bar and 
fetched it a good cut in the neck with his axe, but 'fore, 
he knew it, the axe was knocked out of his hands and he 
was sent eend over eend in the scrub. Yer see the bar is 
putty middlin' lively with his paws, and he ken strike 
quicker'n a man ken, and it's allers been a mystery to me 
how it happened that Bill was fort'nit enuff to put in that 
lick with his axe. 
"Wall, you can jest bet thar was some putty tall scram- 
blin' about that time. Bill got on his feet quicker'n scat 
and started on the back track, but the bar had his hobble 
clear and he follered lively. It was nip and tuck fer a 
minit or so, for the bar was a big one and mad clear 
through, and ther hobble was too small and light, as Bill 
allowed to me arter. 
"As he was runnin' he saw er big spruce ahead of him, 
and, without thinkin', he jumped fer one qf the limbs and 
began to climb the tree. 
"NoAv, of course, yer know that the bar is a climber 
from 'Avay back, and hard to beat, and fer er man to ti-y 
to git aAvay from one by climbin' is foolishness, but with 
Bill 'twas all right, of course. He dumb higher and 
higher till he got to the top limbs, but the bar could'nt 
foller him 'way up on account of the hobble gittin' 
tangled 'round the limbs. 
"Bill had roosted up thar fer an hour or more when he 
see a lot of bees flyin' in and out of a tall stub that stood 
clost to the spruce. 'Twas a big stub, forty or more foot 
high, and three foot thick at the butt fer sure. 
"Thar he was treed by a bar, roostin' up thar all by his 
lonely, yet his luck stuck by him, and even in such a 
scrape as that he diskivered a bee tree, and a good one, 
too. 
"Jest then he heerd a big crash below him, and lookin' 
down he saw the bar had fell to ther ground Avhar it was 
staggerin' around putty middlin weak. In a little while 
it lay doAvn, and when Bill had got out of the spruce the 
critter Avas dead; the lick it had got with the axe had 
fetched a small artery and it had bled to death. 
"The bar dressed at about four hundred pounds, so yer 
can see it was a buster. The bee tree, when Bill cut it 
doAvn, yielded about two hundred pounds of prime honey. 
If that isn't luck, what in thunder do you call it?" 
Through the Parsonage Window. 
V. 
A SPOTLESS spread of white prairie rolled out as far as 
the eye can follow the curved surface of the earth. Not 
an object, animate or inanimate, to cause a ripple on this 
billowless ocean of prairie. From above the sun shines 
softly down through haze which mellows its glar.e and 
imparts a yellowish cast to the Avhite plain. 
The winds of the west, which have won for theselves 
such a world-Avide fame, were slumbering, and the air was 
as balmy as September, though, in fact, it was January. 
Taken east and west, the plain is quite as extended as its 
appearance would seem to indicate. North or south it is 
quite different. A mile either way takes one to the 
verge where one can look down on a tumbled mass of 
hills, hollows, streams, ravines and cairons. A hundred 
yards back from the verge the uninitiated Avould scarcely ^ 
guess that such a panorama was so soon to unfold. This 
effect is caused by the fact that the great table lands ara 
the highest levels of the country, so that looking across 
them one sees nothing of the rougher grounds below, just 
as one sees nothing of a city from the center of even an 
acre of flat roof. 
It would be impossible for me to tell why I had climbed 
up there that afternoon, other than to say I must go 
somewhere to break the monotony of camp hSz, without 
incident except such as is afforded by a (?' »■ pack of 
cards. It would be equally impossible for mi vtell Avhy I 
had filled my belt to its full capacity with needle gun 
cartridges before starting out. I had been restless all 
morning, and even as I lay near the verge of the table on 
the soft grass, looking up at the stray flecks of clouds that 
were passing above, I felt a vague uneasiness as if the 
forerunner of some coming event might be trying to warn 
me of its approach. 
The day was soothing in the perfectness of its Aveatherj 
yet the slumberous condition of things seemed to have 
no effect on me. ScA^eral times I had started up nervously 
under the impression that I had heard the rumble of hoofs 
in the distance. At last the presentiment, as of some- 
thing stealing upon me, became so great that I rose for the 
third or fourth time and looked all round, but there was 
nothing unusual in sight, and I walked out to the break 
away and looked doAvn on the valley sleeping in the hazy 
sunshine below. 
First there was the tumbled mass of hills. Avails and 
cafions growing more and more indistinct as they fell 
rapidly away toward the more distant stream. Then 
there was the band of brush, willows and timber that fol- 
lows closely the course of the water, now close under the 
