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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 5306 ***
+DOWN THE RAVINE BY CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The new moon, a gleaming scimitar, cleft the gauzy mists above a
+rugged spur of the Cumberland Mountains.  The sky, still crimson and
+amber, stretched vast and lonely above the vast and lonely
+landscape.  A fox was barking in the laurel.
+
+This was an imprudent proceeding on the part of the fox, considering
+the value of his head-gear.  A young mountaineer down the ravine was
+reminded, by the sharp, abrupt sound, of a premium offered by the
+State of Tennessee for the scalp and ears of the pestiferous red
+fox.
+
+All unconscious of the legislation of extermination, the animal sped
+nimbly along the ledge of a cliff, becoming visible from the ravine
+below, a tawny streak against the gray rock.  Swift though he was, a
+jet of red light flashing out in the dusk was yet swifter.  The
+echoing crags clamored with the report of a rifle.  The tawny streak
+was suddenly still.  Three boys appeared in the depths of the ravine
+and looked up.
+
+"Thar now!  Ye can't git him off'n that thar ledge, Birt," said Tim
+Griggs.  "The contrairy beastis couldn't hev fund a more ill-
+convenient spot ter die of he hed sarched the mounting."
+
+"I ain't goin' ter leave him thar, though," stoutly declared the boy
+who still held the rifle.  "That thar fox's scalp an' his two ears
+air wuth one whole dollar."
+
+Tim remonstrated.  "Look-a-hyar, Birt; ef ye try ter climb up this
+hyar bluff, ye'll git yer neck bruk, sure."
+
+Birt Dicey looked up critically.  It was a rugged ascent of forty
+feet or more to the narrow ledge where the red fox lay.  Although
+the face of the cliff was jagged, the rock greatly splintered and
+fissured, with many ledges, and here and there a tuft of weeds or a
+stunted bush growing in a niche, it was very steep, and would afford
+precarious foothold.  The sunset was fading.  The uncertain light
+would multiply the dangers of the attempt.  But to leave a dollar
+lying there on the fox's head, that the wolf and the buzzard might
+dine expensively to-morrow!
+
+"An' me so tried for money!" he exclaimed, thinking aloud.
+
+Nate Griggs, who had not before spoken, gave a sudden laugh,--a dry,
+jeering laugh.
+
+"Ef all the foxes on the mounting war ter hold a pertracted meet'n,
+jes' ter pleasure you-uns, thar wouldn't be enough scalps an' ears
+'mongst 'em ter make up the money ye hanker fur ter buy a horse."
+
+To buy a horse was the height of Birt's ambition.  His mother was a
+widow; and as an instance of the fact that misfortunes seldom come
+singly, the horse on which the family depended to till their scanty
+acres died shortly after his owner.  And so, whenever the spring
+opened and the ploughs all over the countryside were starting, their
+one chance to cultivate a crop was to hire a mule from their nearest
+neighbor, the tanner.  Birt was the eldest son, and his mother had
+only his work to offer in payment.  The proposition always took the
+tanner in what he called a "jubious time."  Spring is the season for
+stripping the trees of their bark, which is richer in tannin when
+the sap flows most freely, and the mule was needed to haul up the
+piles of bark from out the depths of the woods to the tanyard.
+Then, too, Jubal Perkins had his own crops to put in.  As he often
+remarked in the course of the negotiation, "I don't eat tan bark--
+nor yit raw hides."  Although the mule was a multifarious animal,
+and ploughed and worked in the bark-mill, and hauled from the woods,
+and went long journeys in the wagon or under the saddle, he was not
+ubiquitous, and it was impossible for him to be in the several
+places in which he was urgently needed at the same time.  Therefore,
+to hire him out on these terms seemed hardly an advantage to his
+master.  Nevertheless, this bargain was annually struck.  The
+poverty-stricken widow always congratulated herself upon its
+conclusion, and it never occurred to her that the amount of work
+that Birt did in the tanyard was a disproportionately large return
+for the few days that the tanner's mule ploughed their little
+fields.
+
+Birt, however, was beginning to see that a boy to drive that mule
+around the bark-mill was as essential as the mule himself.  As
+Providence had failed to furnish the tanner with a son for this
+purpose--his family consisting of several small daughters--Birt
+supplied a long-felt want.
+
+The boy appreciated that his simple mother was over-reached, yet he
+could not see that she could do otherwise.  He sighed for
+independence, for a larger opportunity.  As he drove the mule round
+the limited circuit, his mind was far away.  He anxiously canvassed
+the future.  He cherished fiery, ambitious schemes,--often scorched,
+poor fellow, by their futility.  With his time thus mortgaged, he
+thought his help to his mother was far less than it might be.  But
+until he could have a horse of his own, there was no hope--no
+progress.  And for this he planned, and dreamed, and saved.
+
+Partly these considerations, partly the love of adventure, and
+partly the jeer in Nate's laugh determined him not to relinquish the
+price set upon the fox's head.  He took off his coat and flung it on
+the ground beside his rifle.  Then he began to clamber up the cliff.
+
+The two brothers, their hands in the pockets of their brown jeans
+trousers, stood watching his ascent.  Nate had sandy hair, small
+gray eyes, set much too close together, and a sharp, pale, freckled
+face.  Tim seemed only a mild repetition of him, as if Nature had
+tried to illustrate what Nate would be with a better temper and less
+sly intelligence.
+
+Birt was climbing slowly.  It was a difficult matter.  Here was a
+crevice that would hardly admit his eager fingers, and again a
+projection so narrow that it seemed to grudge him foothold.  Some of
+the ledges, however, were wider, and occasionally a dwarfed
+huckleberry bush, nourished in a fissure, lifted him up like a
+helping hand.  He quaked as he heard the roots strain and creak, for
+he was a pretty heavy fellow for sixteen years of age.  They did not
+give way, however, and up and up he went, every moment increasing
+the depth below him and the danger.  His breath was short; his
+strength flagged, he slipped more than once, giving himself a great
+fright; and when he reached the ledge where the dead fox lay, he
+thought, "The varmint don't wuth it."
+
+Nevertheless he whooped out his triumph to Nate and Tim in a
+stentorian halloo, for they had already started homeward, and
+presently their voices died in the distance.  Birt faced about and
+sat down on the ledge to rest, his feet dangling over the depths
+beneath.
+
+It was a lonely spot, walled in by the mountains, and frequented
+only by the deer that were wont to come to lick salt from the briny
+margin of a great salt spring far down the ravine.  Their hoofs had
+worn a deep excavation around it in the countless years and
+generations that they had herded here.  The "lick," as such places
+are called in Tennessee, was nearly two acres in extent, and in the
+centre of the depression the brackish water stood to the depth of
+six feet or more.  Birt looked down at it, thinking of the old times
+when, according to tradition, it was the stamping ground of buffalo
+as well as deer.  The dusk deepened.  The shadows were skulking in
+and out of the wild ravine as the wind rose and fell.  They took to
+his fancy the form of herds of the banished bison, revisiting in
+this impalpable guise the sylvan shades where they are but a memory
+now.
+
+Presently he began the rugged descent, considerably hampered by the
+fox, which he carried by the tail.  He stopped to rest whenever he
+found a ledge that would serve as a seat.  Looking up, high above
+the jagged summit of the cliff that sharply serrated the zenith, he
+saw the earliest star, glorious in the crimson and amber sky.
+Below, a point of silver light quivered, reflected in the crimson
+and amber waters of the "lick."  The fire-flies were flickering
+among the ferns; he saw about him their errant gleam.  The shadowy
+herds trooped down the mountain side.
+
+Now and then his weight uprooted a bush in his hands, and the clods
+fell.  He missed his footing as he neared the base, and came down
+with a thump.  It was a gravelly spot where he had fallen, and he
+saw in a moment that it was the summer-dried channel of a mountain
+rill.  As he pulled himself up on one elbow, he suddenly paused with
+dilated eyes.  The evening light fell upon a burnished glimmer;--a
+bit of stone--was it stone?--shining with a metallic lustre.
+
+He looked at it for a moment, his eyes glowing in the contemplation
+of a splendid possibility.
+
+What were those old stories that his father used to tell of the gold
+excitement in Tennessee in 1831, when the rich earth flung largess
+from its hidden wealth along the romantic banks of Coca Creek!  Gold
+had been found in Tennessee--why not here?  And once--why not again?
+
+The idea so possessed him that while he was skinning the fox his
+sharp knife almost sacrificed one of the TWO ears imperatively
+required by the statute, in order that the wily hunter may not be
+tempted to present one ear at a time, thus multiplying red foxes and
+premiums therefor like Falstaff's "rogues in buckram."
+
+He took his way homeward through the darkening woods, carrying the
+pelt in his hand.  It was not long before he could hear the dogs
+barking, and as he came suddenly upon a little clearing in the midst
+of the dense, encompassing wilderness, he saw them all trooping down
+from the unenclosed passage between the two log-rooms which
+constituted the house.  An old hound had half climbed the fence, but
+as he laid his fore-paw on the topmost rail, his deep-mouthed bay
+was hushed,--he was recognizing the approaching step of his master.
+The yellow curs were still insisting upon a marauder theory.  One of
+them barked defiance as he thrust his head between the rails of the
+fence.  There was another head thrust through too, about on a level
+with Towser's, but it was not a dog's head.  As Birt caught a
+glimpse of it, he called out hastily, "Stand back thar, Tennessee!"
+And then it was lost to view, for at the sound of his voice all the
+dogs came huddling over the bars, shrilly yelping a tumultuous
+welcome.
+
+When Birt had vaulted over the fence, the little object withdrew its
+head from between the rails and came trotting along beside him,
+holding up its hand to clasp his.
+
+His mother, standing in the passage, her tall, thin figure distinct
+in the firelight that came flickering out through the open door,
+soliloquized querulously:  -
+
+"Ef that thar child don't quit that fool way o' stickin' her head a-
+twixt the rails ter watch fur her brother, she'll git cotched thar
+some day like a peeg in a pen, an' git her neck bruk."
+
+Birt overheard her.  "Tennessee air too peart ter git herself hurt,"
+he said, a trifle ashamed of his ready championship of his little
+sister, as a big rough boy is apt to be of gentler emotions.
+
+If ever infancy can be deemed uncouth, she was an uncouth little
+atom of humanity.  Her blue checked homespun dress, graced with big
+horn buttons, descended almost to her feet.  Her straight, awkwardly
+cropped hair was of a nondescript shade pleasantly called "tow."  As
+she came into the light of the fire, she lifted wide black eyes
+deprecatingly to her mother.
+
+"She ain't pretty, I know, but she air powerful peart," Birt used to
+say so often that the phrase became a formula with him.
+
+If she were "powerful peart," it was a fact readily apparent only to
+him, for she was a silent child, with the single marked
+characteristic of great affection for her eldest brother and a
+singular pertinacity in following him about.
+
+"I dunno 'bout Tennie's peartness," his mother sarcastically
+rejoined.  "'Pears ter me like the chile hain't never hed good
+sense; afore she could walk she'd crawl along the floor arter ye,
+an' holler like a squeech-owEL ef ye went off an' lef' her.  An' ye
+air plumb teched in the head too, Birt, ter set sech store by
+Tennie.  I look ter see her killed, or stunted, some day, in them
+travels o' hern."
+
+For when Birt Dicey went "yerrands" on the mule through the woods to
+the Settlement, Tennessee often rode on the pommel of his saddle.
+She followed in the furrow when he ploughed.  She was as familiar an
+object at the tanyard as the bark-mill itself.  When he wielded the
+axe, she perched on one end of the woodpile.  But so far, she had
+passed safely through her varied adventures, and gratifying
+evidences of her growth were registered on the door.  "Stand back
+thar, Tennessee!" in a loud, boyish halloo, was a command when
+danger was ahead, which she obeyed with the readiness of a veteran.
+
+Sometimes, however, this incongruous companionship became irksome to
+him.  Her trusting, insistent affection made her a clog upon him,
+and he grew impatient of it.
+
+Ah, little Sister! he learned its value one day.
+
+The great wood fire was all aflare in the deep chimney-place.
+Savory odors came from the gridiron and the skillet and the hoe, on
+the live coals drawn out on the broad hearth.  The tow-headed
+children grew noisy as they assembled around the bare pine table,
+and began to clash their knives and forks.
+
+Birt, unmindful, crouched by the hearth, silently turning his
+precious specimens about, that he might examine them by the
+firelight.  Tennessee, her chuffy hand on his shoulder, for she
+could reach it as he knelt, held her head close to his, and looked
+at them too with wide black eyes.  His mother placed the supper on
+the table, and twice she called to him to come, but he did not hear.
+She turned and looked down at him, then broke out sharply in
+indignant surprise.
+
+"Air ye bereft o' reason, Birt Dicey!  Ye set thar nosin' a handful
+o' rocks ez ef they war fitten ter eat!  An' now look at the boy--a
+stuffin' 'em in his pockets ter sag 'em down and tear 'em out fur me
+ter sew in ag'in.  Waal, waal!  Sol'mon say ef ye spare the rod ye
+spile the child--mos' ennybody could hev fund that out from thar own
+'sperience; but the wisest man that ever lived lef' no receipt how
+ter keep a boy's pockets whole in his breeches."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Birt Dicey lay awake deep into the night, pondering and planning.
+But despite this unwonted vigil the old bark-mill was early astir,
+and he went alertly about his work.  He felt eager, strong, capable.
+The spirit of progress was upon him.
+
+The tanyard lay in the midst of a forest so dense that, except at
+the verge of the clearing, it showed hardly a trace of its gradual
+despoliation by the industry that nestled in its heart like a worm
+in the bud.  There were many stumps about the margin of the woods,
+the felled trees, stripped of their bark, often lying among them
+still, for the supply of timber exceeded the need.  In penetrating
+the wilderness you might mark, too, here and there, a vacant space,
+where the chestnut-oak, prized for its tannin, had once grown on the
+slope.
+
+A little log house was in the midst of the clearing.  It had,
+properly speaking, only one room, but there was a shed-room
+attached, for the purpose of storage, and also a large open shed at
+one side.  The rail fence inclosed the space of an acre, perhaps,
+which was covered with spent bark.  Across the pits planks were
+laid, with heavy stones upon them to hold them in place.  A rude
+roof sheltered the bark-mill from the weather, and there was the
+patient mule, with Birt and a whip to make sure that he did not fall
+into reflective pauses according to his meditative wont.  And there,
+too, was Tennessee, perched on the lower edge of a great pile of
+bark, and gravely watching Birt.
+
+He deprecated the attention she attracted.  He was sometimes ashamed
+to have the persistent little sister seen following at his heels
+like a midday shadow.  He could not know that the men who stopped
+and spoke to him and to her, and laughed at the infirmities of the
+infant tongue when she replied unintelligibly, thought better of him
+for his manifestation of strong fraternal affection.  They said to
+each other that he was a "peart boy an' powerful good ter the
+t'other chill'en, an' holped the fambly along ez well ez a man--
+better'n thar dad ever done;" for Birt's father had been
+characterized always as "slack-twisted an' onlucky."
+
+The shadows dwindled on the tan.  The winds had furled their wings.
+White clouds rose, dazzling, opaque, up to the blue zenith.  The
+querulous cicada complained in the laurel.  Birt heard the call of a
+jay from the woods.  And then, as he once more urged the old mule
+on, the busy bark-mill kept up such a whir that he could hear
+nothing else.  He was not aware of an approach till the new-comer
+was close upon him; in fact, the first he knew of Nate Griggs's
+proximity was the sight of him.  Nate was glancing about with his
+usual air of questioning disparagement, and cracking a long lash at
+the spent bark on the ground.
+
+"Hello, Nate!" Birt cried out, eagerly.  "I'm powerful glad ye
+happened ter kem hyar, fur I hev a word ter say ter ye."
+
+"I dunno ez I'm minded ter bide," Nate said cavalierly.  "I hates to
+waste time an' burn daylight a-jowin'."
+
+He was still cracking his lash at the ground.  There was a sudden,
+half-articulate remonstrance.
+
+Birt, who had turned away to the bark-mill, whirled back in a rising
+passion.
+
+"Did ye hit Tennessee?" he asked, with a dangerous light in his
+eyes.
+
+"No--I never!" Nate protested.  "I hain't seen her till this minute.
+She war standin' a-hint ye."
+
+"Waal, ye skeered her, then," said Birt, hardly appeased.  "Quit
+snappin' that lash.  'Pears-like ter me ez ye makes yerself powerful
+free round this hyar tanyard."
+
+"Tennie air a-growin' wonderful fast," the sly Nathan remarked
+pleasantly.
+
+Birt softened instantly.  "She air a haffen inch higher 'n she war
+las' March, 'cordin' ter the mark on the door," he declared,
+pridefully.  "She ain't pretty, I know, but she air powerful peart."
+
+"What war the word ez ye war layin' off ter say ter me?" Nate asked,
+curiosity vividly expressed in his face.
+
+Birt leaned back against the pile of bark and hesitated.  Last night
+he had thought Nate the most desirable person to whom he could
+confide his secret whose aid he could secure.  There were many
+circumstances that made this seem wise.  But when the disclosure was
+imminent, something in those small, bead-like eyes, unpleasantly
+close together, something in the expression of the thin, pale face,
+something in Nate's voice and manner repelled confidence.
+
+"Nate," said Birt, at last, speaking with that subacute conviction,
+so strong yet so ill-defined, which vividly warns the ill-judged and
+yet cannot stop the tongue constrained by its own folly, "what d'ye
+s'pose I fund in the woods yestiddy?"
+
+The two small eyes, set close together, seemed merged in one, so
+concentrated was their gaze.  Again their expression struck Birt's
+attention.  He hesitated once more.  "Ef I tell ye, will ye promise
+never ter tell enny livin' human critter?"
+
+"I hope I may drap stone dead ef I ever tell!" Nate exclaimed.
+
+"I fund a strange metal in the woods yestiddy.  What d'ye s'pose 't
+war?"
+
+Nate shook his head.  His breath was quick and he could not control
+the keen anxiety in his face.  A strong flush rose to the roots of
+his sandy hair, his lips quivered, and his small eyes glittered with
+greedy expectation.  His tongue refused to frame a word.
+
+"GOLD!" cried Birt, triumphantly.
+
+"Whar be it?" exclaimed Nate.  He was about to start in full run for
+the spot.
+
+"I ain't agoin' ter tell ye, without we-uns kin strike a trade."
+
+"Waal," said Nate, with difficulty repressing his impatience, "what
+air you-uns aimin' ter do?"
+
+"Ye knows ez I hev ter bide hyar with the bark-mill mos'ly, jes'
+now," said Birt, beginning to expound the series of ideas which he
+had carefully worked out in his midnight vigil, "'kase they hev got
+ter hev a heap o' tan ter fill them thar vats ag'in.  Ef I war ter
+leave an' go a-gold huntin', the men on the mounting would find out
+what I war arter, an' they'd come a-grabblin' thar too, an' mebbe
+git it all, 'kase I dunno how much or how leetle thar be.  I wants
+ter make sure of enough ter buy a horse, or a mule, or su'thin', ef
+I kin, 'fore I tells ennybody else.  An' I 'lowed ez ye an' me would
+go pardners.  Ye'd take my place hyar at the tanyard one day, whilst
+I dug, an' I'd bide in the tanyard nex' day.  An' we would divide
+fair an' even all we fund."
+
+Nate did not reply.  He was absorbed in a project that had come into
+his head as his friend talked, and the two dissimilar trains of
+thought combined in a mental mosaic that would have amazed Birt
+Dicey.
+
+"Ye see," Birt presently continued, "I dunno when I kin git shet o'
+the tanyard this year.  Old Jube Perkins 'lows ez he air mighty busy
+'bout'n them hides an' sech, an' he wants me ter holp around
+ginerally.  He say ef I do mo' work'n I owes him, he'll make that
+straight with my mother.  An' he declares fur true ef I don't holp
+him at this junctry, when he needs me, he won't hire his mule to my
+mother nex' spring; an' ye know it won't do fur we-uns ter resk the
+corn-crap an' gyarden truck with sech a pack o' chill'n ter vittle
+ez we-uns hev got at our house."
+
+Nate deduced an unexpected conclusion.  "Ye oughter gin me more'n
+haffen the make," he said.  "'Kase ef 'twarn't fur me, ye couldn't
+git none.  An' ef ye don't say two thurds, I'll tell every critter
+on the mounting an' they'll be grabblin' in yer gold mine d'rec'ly."
+
+"Ye dunno whar it is," said Birt, quietly.
+
+If a sudden jet from the cold mountain torrent, that rioted through
+the wilderness down the ravine hard by, had been dashed into Nate's
+thin, sharp face, he could not have cooled more abruptly.  The
+change almost took his breath away.
+
+"I don't mean THAT, nuther," he gasped with politic penitence, "kase
+I hev promised not ter tell.  I dunno whether I kin holp nohow.  I
+hev got ter do my sheer o' work at home; we ain't through pullin'
+fodder off'n our late corn yit."
+
+Birt looked at him in silent surprise.
+
+Nate was older than his friend by several years.  He was of an
+unruly and insubordinate temper, and did as little work as he
+pleased at home.  He often remarked that he would like to see who
+could make him do what he had no mind to do.
+
+"Mebbe old Jube wouldn't want me round 'bout," he suggested.
+
+"Waal," said Birt, eager again to detail his plans, "he 'lowed when
+I axed him this mornin' ez he'd be willin' ef I could trade with
+another boy ter take my place wunst in a while."
+
+Nate affected to meditate on this view of the question.  "But it
+will be toler'ble fur away fur me ter go prowlin' in the woods, a-
+huntin' fur gold, an' our fodder jes' a-sufferin' ter be pulled.  Ef
+the spot air fur off, I can't come an' I won't, not fur haffen the
+make."
+
+"'T ain't fur off at all--scant haffen mile," replied unwary Birt,
+anxious to convince.  "It air jes' yander nigh that thar salt lick
+down the ravine.  I marks the spot by a bowlder--biggest bowlder I
+ever see--on the slope o' the mounting."
+
+The instant this revelation passed his lips, regret seized him.
+"But ye ain't ter go thar 'thout me, ye onderstand, till we begins
+our work."
+
+"I ain't wantin' ter go," Nate protested.  "I ain't sati'fied in my
+mind whether I'll ondertake ter holp or no.  That pullin' fodder ez
+I hev got ter do sets mighty heavy on my stomach."
+
+"Tim an' yer dad ALWAYS pulls the fodder an' sech--I knows ez that
+air a true word," said Birt, bluntly.  "An' I can't git away from
+the tanyard at all ef ye won't holp me, 'kase old Jube 'lowed he
+wouldn't let me swop with a smaller boy ter work hyar; an' all them
+my size, an' bigger, air made ter work with thar dads, 'ceptin' you-
+uns."
+
+Nate heard, but he hardly looked as if he did, so busily absorbed
+was he in fitting this fragment of fact into his mental mosaic.  It
+had begun to assume the proportions of a distinct design.
+
+He suddenly asked a question of apparent irrelevancy.
+
+"This hyar land down the ravine don't b'long ter yer folkses--who do
+it b'long ter?"
+
+"Don't b'long ter nobody, ye weasel!" Birt retorted, in rising
+wrath.  "D'ye s'pose I'd be a-stealin' of gold off'n somebody else's
+land?"
+
+Nate's sly, thin face lighted up wonderfully.  He seemed in a fever
+of haste to terminate the conference and get away.  He agreed to his
+friend's proposition and promised to be at the bark-mill bright and
+early in the morning.  As he trudged off, Birt Dicey stood watching
+the receding figure.  His eyes were perplexed, his mind full of
+anxious foreboding.  He hardly knew what he feared.  He had only a
+vague sense of mischief in the air, as slight but as unmistakable as
+the harbinger of storm on a sunshiny summer day.
+
+"I wisht I hedn't tole him nuthin'," he said, as he wended his way
+home that night.  "Ef my mother hed knowed bout'n it all, I wouldn't
+hev been 'lowed ter tell him.  She DEspises the very sight o' this
+hyar Nate Griggs--an' yit she say she dunno why."
+
+After supper he sat gloomy and taciturn in the uninclosed passage
+between the two rooms, watching alternately the fire-flies, as they
+instarred the dark woods with ever-shifting gold sparks, and the
+broad, pale flashes of heat lightning which from time to time
+illumined the horizon.  There was no motion in the heavy black
+foliage, but it was filled with the shrill droning of the summer
+insects, and high in the branches a screech-owl pierced the air with
+its keen, quavering scream.
+
+"Tennessee!" exclaimed Birt, as the unwelcome sound fell upon his
+ear--"Tennessee! run an' put the shovel in the fire!"
+
+Whether the shovel, becoming hot among the live coals, burned the
+owl that was high in the tree-top outside, according to the
+countryside superstition, or whether by a singular coincidence, he
+discovered that he had business elsewhere, he was soon gone, and the
+night was left to the chorusing katydids and tree-toads and to the
+weird, fitful illuminations of the noiseless heat lightning.
+
+Birt Dicey rose suddenly and walked away silently into the dense,
+dark woods.
+
+"Stop, Tennessee! ye can't go too!" exclaimed Mrs. Dicey, appearing
+in the doorway just in time to intercept the juvenile excursionist.
+"Ketch her, Rufus!  Ef she wouldn't hev followed Birt right off in
+the pitch dark!  She ain't afeared o' nothin' when Birt is thar.
+Git that pomegranate she hed an' gin it ter her ter keep her from
+hollerin', Rufe; I hed a sight ruther hear the squeech-owEL."
+
+Tennessee, overpowered by disappointment, sobbed herself to sleep
+upon the floor, and then ensued an interval of quiet.  Rufe, a
+towheaded boy of ten, dressed in an unbleached cotton shirt and
+blue-checked homespun trousers, concluded that this moment was the
+accepted time to count the balls in his brother's shot-pouch.  This
+he proceeded to do, with the aid of the sullen glare from the embers
+within and the fluctuating gleams of the lightning without.  There
+was no pretense of utility in Rufe's performance; only the love of
+handling lead could explain it.
+
+"Ye hed better mind," his mother admonished him.  "Birt war powerful
+tried the t'other day ter think what hed gone with his bullets.
+He'll nose ye out afore long."
+
+"They hev got sech a fool way o' slippin' through the chinks in the
+floor," said the boy in exasperation.  "I never seen the beat!  An'
+thar's no gittin' them out, nuther.  I snaked under the house
+yestiddy an' sarched, an' sarched!--an' I never fund but two.  An'
+Towse, he dragged hisself under thar, too--jes' a-growlin' an' a-
+snappin'.  I thought fur sartin every minit he'd bite my foot off."
+
+He resumed his self-imposed task of counting the rifle balls, and
+now and then a sharp click told that another was consigned to that
+limbo guarded by Towse.  Mrs. Dicey stood in silence for a time,
+gazing upon the unutterably gloomy forest, the distant, throbbing
+stars, and the broad, wan flashes at long intervals gleaming through
+the sky.
+
+"It puts me in a mighty tucker ter hev yer brother a-settin' out
+through the woods this hyar way, an' a-leavin' of we-uns hyar, all
+by ourselves sech a dark night.  I'm always afeared thar mought be a
+bar a-prowlin' round.  An' the cornfield air close ter the house,
+too."
+
+"Pete Thompson--him ez war yander ter the tanyard day 'fore yestiddy
+with his dad," said the boy, "he tole it ter me ez how he seen a bar
+las' Wednesday a-climbin' over the fence ter thar cornfield, with a
+haffen dozen roastin'-ears under his arm an' a watermillion on his
+head.  But WAR it a haffen dozen?  I furgits now ef Pete said it war
+a haffen dozen or nine ears of corn the bar hed;" and he paused to
+reflect in the midst of his important occupation.
+
+"I'll be bound Pete never stopped ter count 'em," said Mrs. Dicey.
+"Pick that chile up an' come in.  I'm goin' ter bar up the door."
+
+Birt Dicey plodded away through the deep woods and the dense
+darkness down the ravine.  Although he could not now distinguish one
+stone from another, he had an uncontrollable impulse to visit again
+the treasure he had discovered.  The murmur of the gently bubbling
+water warned him of the proximity of the deep salt spring almost at
+the base of the mountain, and, guiding himself partly by the sound,
+he made his way along the slope to the great bowlder beneath the
+cliffs that served to mark the spot.  As he laid his hand on the
+bowlder, he experienced a wonderful exhilaration of spirit.  Once
+more he canvassed his scheme.  This was the one great opportunity of
+his restricted life.  Visions of future possibilities were opening
+wide their fascinating vistas.  He might make enough to buy a horse,
+and this expressed his idea of wealth.  "But ef I live ter git a
+cent out'n it," he said to himself, "I'll take the very fust money I
+kin call my own an' buy Tennessee a chany cup an' sarcer, an' a
+string o' blue beads an' a caliky coat--ef I die fur it."
+
+His pleased reverie was broken by a sudden discovery.  He was not
+standing among stones about the great bowlder; no--his foot had sunk
+deep in the sand!  He stooped down in the darkness and felt about
+him.  The spot was not now as he had left it yesterday afternoon.
+He was sure of this, even before a fleet, wan flash of the heat
+lightning showed him at his feet the unmistakable signs of a recent
+excavation.  It was not deep, it was not broad; but it was fresh and
+it betrayed a prying hand.  Again the heat lightning illumined the
+wide, vague sky.  He saw the solemn dark forests; he saw the steely
+glimmer of the lick; the distant mountains flickered against the
+pallid horizon; and once more--densest gloom.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+It was Nate who had been here,--Birt felt sure of that; Nate, who
+had promised he would not come.
+
+Convinced that his friend was playing a false part, Birt went at
+once to the bark-mill in the morning, confident that he would not
+find Nate at work in the tanyard according to their agreement.
+
+It was later than usual, and Jubal Perkins swore at Birt for his
+tardiness.  He hardly heard; and as the old bark-mill ground and
+ground the bark, and the mule jogged around and around, and the hot
+sun shone, and the voices of the men handling the hides at the
+tanpit were loud on the air, all his thoughts were of the cool,
+dark, sequestered ravine, holding in its cloven heart the secret he
+had discovered.
+
+Rufus happened to come to the tanyard today.  Birt seized the
+opportunity.
+
+"Rufe," he said, "ye see I can't git away from the mill, 'kase I'm
+'bleeged ter stay hyar whilst the old mule grinds.  But ef ye'll go
+over yander ter Nate Griggs's house an' tell him ter come over hyar,
+bein' ez I want to see him partic'lar, I'll fix ye a squir'l-trap
+before long ez the peartest old Bushy-tail on the mounting ain't got
+the gumption ter git out'n.  An' let me know ef Nate ain't thar."
+
+Rufe was disposed to parley.  He stood first on one foot, then on
+the other.  He cast calculating eyes at the bark-mill and out upon
+the deep forest.  The exact date on which this promise was to be
+fulfilled had to be fixed before he announced his willingness to set
+out.
+
+Ten to one, he would have gone without the bribe, had none been
+suggested, for he loved the woods better than the woodpile, and a
+five-mile tramp through its tangles wearied his bones not so much as
+picking up a single basketful of chips.  Some boys' bones are
+constituted thus, strange as it may seem.
+
+So he went his way in his somewhat eccentric gait, compounded of a
+hop, and a skip, and a dawdle.  He had made about half a mile when
+the path curved to the mountain's brink.  He paused and parted the
+glossy leaves of the dense laurel that he might look out over the
+precipice at the distant heights.  How blue--how softly blue they
+were!--the endless ranges about the horizon.  What a golden haze
+melted on those nearer at hand, bravely green in the sunshine!  From
+among the beetling crags, the first red leaf was whirling away
+against the azure sky.  Even a buzzard had its picturesque aspects,
+circling high above the mountains in its strong, majestic flight.
+To breathe the balsamic, sunlit air was luxury, happiness; it was a
+wonder that Rufe got on as fast as he did.  How fragrant and cool
+and dark was the shadowy valley!  A silver cloud lay deep in the
+waters of the "lick."  Why Rufe made up his mind to go down there,
+he could hardly have said--sheer curiosity, perhaps.  He knew he had
+plenty of time to get to Nate's house and back before dark.  People
+who sent Rufe on errands usually reckoned for two hours' waste in
+each direction.  He had no idea of descending the cliffs as Birt had
+done.  He stolidly retraced his way until he was nearly home; then
+scrambling down rocky slopes he came presently upon a deer-path.
+All at once, he noticed the footprint of a man in a dank, marshy
+spot.  He stopped and looked hard at it, for he had naturally
+supposed this path was used only by the woodland gentry.
+
+"Some deer-hunter, I reckon," he said.  And so he went on.
+
+With his characteristic curiosity, he peered all around the "lick"
+when he was at last there.  He even applied his tongue, calf-like,
+to the briny earth; it did not taste so salty as he had expected.
+As he rolled over luxuriously on his back among the fragrant summer
+weeds, he caught sight of something in the branches of an oak tree.
+He sat up and stared.  It looked like a rude platform.  After a
+moment, he divined that it was the remnant of a scaffold from which
+some early settler of Tennessee had been wont to fire upon the deer
+or the buffalo at the "lick," below.  Such relics, some of them a
+century old, are to be seen to this day in sequestered nooks of the
+Cumberland Mountains.  Rufe had heard of these old scaffolds, but he
+had never known of the existence of this one down by the "lick."  He
+sprang up, a flush of excitement contending with the dirt on his
+countenance; he set his squirrel teeth resolutely together; he
+applied his sturdy fingers and his nimble legs to the bark of the
+tree, and up he went like a cat.
+
+He climbed to the lower branches easily enough, but he caused much
+commotion and swaying among them as he struggled through the
+foliage.  An owl, with great remonstrant eyes, suddenly looked out
+of a hollow, higher still, with an inarticulate mutter of mingled
+reproach, and warning, and anxiety.  Rufe settled himself on the
+platform, his bare feet dangling about jocosely.  Then, beating his
+hands on either thigh to mark the time he sang in a loud, shrill
+soprano, prone now and then to be flat, and yet, impartially, prone
+now and then to be sharp:  -
+
+   Thar war two sun-dogs in the red day-dawn,
+      An' the wind war laid--'t war prime fur game.
+   I went ter the woods betimes that morn,
+      An' tuk my flint-lock, "Nancy," by name;
+        An' thar I see, in the crotch of a tree,
+        A great big catamount grinnin' at me.
+        A-kee! he! he! An' a-ho! ho! he!
+        A pop-eyed catamount laffin' at me!
+
+And, as Rufe sang, the anger and remonstrance in the owl's demeanor
+increased every moment.  For the owl was a vocalist, too!
+
+   Bein' made game of by a brute beastis,
+      War su'thin' I could in no ways allow.
+   I jes' spoke up, for my dander hed riz,
+      "Cat--take in the slack o' yer jaw!"
+   He bowed his back--Nance sighted him gran',
+   Then the blamed old gal jes' flashed in the pan!
+   A-kee! he! he! An' a-ho! ho! he!
+   With a outraged catamount rebukin' of me!
+
+As Rufe finished this with a mighty CRESCENDO, he was obliged to
+pause for breath.  He stared about, gaspily.  The afternoon was
+waning.  The mountains close at hand were a darker green.  The
+distant ranges had assumed a rosy amethystine tint, like nothing
+earthly--like the mountains of a dream, perhaps.  The buzzard had
+alighted in the top of a tree not far down the slope, a tree long
+ago lightning-scathed, but still rising, gaunt and scarred, above
+all the forest, and stretching dead stark arms to heaven.  Somehow
+Rufe did not like the looks of it.  He was aware of a revulsion of
+feeling, of the ebbing away of his merry spirit before he saw more.
+
+As he tried to sing:  -
+
+   I war the mightiest hunter that ever ye see
+   Till that thar catamount tuk arter me! -
+
+his tongue clove suddenly to the roof of his mouth.
+
+He could see something under that tree which no one else could see,
+not even from the summit of the crags, for the tree was beyond a
+projecting slope, and out of the range of vision thence.
+
+Rufe could not make out distinctly what the object was, but it was
+evidently foreign to the place.  He possessed the universal human
+weakness of regarding everything with a personal application.  It
+now seemed strange to him that he should have come here at all;
+stranger still, that he should have mounted this queer relic of days
+so long gone by, and thus discovered that peculiar object under the
+dead tree.  He began to think he had been led here for a purpose.
+Now Rufe was not so good a boy as to be on the continual lookout for
+rewards of merit.  On the contrary, the day of reckoning meant with
+him the day of punishment.  He had heard recounted an unpleasant
+superstition that when the red sunsets were flaming round the
+western mountains, and the valleys were dark and drear, and the
+abysses and gorges gloomed full of witches and weird spirits, Satan
+himself might be descried, walking the crags, and spitting fire, and
+deporting himself generally in such a manner as to cause great
+apprehension to a small person who could remember so many sins as
+Rufe could.  His sins! they trooped up before his mental vision now,
+and in a dense convocation crowded the encompassing wilderness.
+
+Rufe felt that he must not leave this matter in uncertainty.  He
+must know whether that strange object under the tree could be
+intended as a warning to him to cease in time his evil ways--
+tormenting Towse, pulling Tennessee's hair, shirking the woodpile,
+and squandering Birt's rifle balls.  He even feared this might be a
+notification that the hour of retribution had already come!
+
+He scuttled off the platform, and began to swing himself from bough
+to bough.  He was nervous and less expert than when he had climbed
+up the tree.  He lost his grip once, and crashed from one branch to
+another, scratching himself handsomely in the operation.  The owl,
+emboldened by his retreat, flew awkwardly down upon the scaffold,
+and perched there, its head turned askew, and its great, round eyes
+fixed solemnly upon him.
+
+Suddenly a wild hoot of derision rent the air; the echoes answered,
+and all the ravine was filled with the jeering clamor.
+
+"The wust luck in the worl'!" plained poor Rufe, as the ill-omened
+cry rose again and again.  "'Tain't goin' ter s'prise me none now,
+ef I gits my neck bruk along o' this resky foolishness in this
+cur'ous place whar owELS watch from the lookout ez dead men hev
+lef'."
+
+He came down unhurt, however.  Then he sidled about a great many
+times through "the laurel," for he could not muster courage for a
+direct approach to the strange object he had descried.  The owl
+still watched him, and bobbed its head and hooted after him.  When
+he drew near the lightning-scathed tree, he paused rooted to the
+spot, gazing in astonishment, his hat on the back of his tow head,
+his eyes opened wide, one finger inserted in his mouth in silent
+deprecation.
+
+For there stood a man dressed in black, and with a dark straw hat on
+his head.  He had gray whiskers, and gleaming spectacles of a mildly
+surprised expression.  He smiled kindly when he saw Rufe.
+Incongruously enough, he had a hammer in his hand.  He was going
+down the ravine, tapping the rocks with it.  And Rufe thought he
+looked for all the world like some over-grown, demented woodpecker.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+As Rufe still stood staring, the old gentleman held out his hand
+with a cordial gesture.
+
+"Come here, my little man!" he said in a kind voice.
+
+Rufe hesitated.  Then he was seized by sudden distrust.  Who was
+this stranger? and why did he call, "Come here!"
+
+Perhaps the fears already uppermost in Rufe's mind influenced his
+hasty conclusion.  He cast a horrified glance upon the old gentleman
+in black, a garb of suspicious color to the little mountaineer, who
+had never seen men clad in aught but the brown jeans habitually worn
+by the hunters of the range.  He remembered, too, the words of an
+old song that chronicled how alluring were the invitations of Satan,
+and with a frenzied cry he fled frantically through the laurel.
+
+Away and away he dashed, up steep ascents, down sharp declivities,
+falling twice or thrice in his haste, but hurting his clothes more
+than himself.
+
+It was not long before he was in sight of home, and Towse met him at
+the fence.  The feeling between these two was often the reverse of
+cordial, and as Rufe climbed down from rail to rail, his sullen
+"Lemme 'lone, now!" was answered by sundry snaps at his heels and a
+low growl.  Not that Towse would really have harmed him--fealty to
+the family forbade that; but in defense of his ears and tail he
+thought it best to keep fierce possibilities in Rufe's
+contemplation.
+
+Rufe sat down on the floor of the uninclosed passage between the two
+rooms, his legs dangling over the sparse sprouts of chickweed and
+clumps of mullein that grew just beneath, for there were no steps,
+and Towse bounded up and sat upright close beside him.  And as he
+sought to lean on Towse, the dog sought to lean on him.
+
+They both looked out meditatively at the dense and sombre
+wilderness, upon which this little clearing and humble log-cabin
+were but meagre suggestions of that strong, full-pulsed humanity
+that has elsewhere subdued nature, and achieved progress, and
+preempted perfection.
+
+Towse soon shut his eyes, and presently he was nodding.  Presumably
+he dreamed, for once he roused himself to snap at a fly, when there
+was no fly.  Rufe, however, was wide awake, and busily canvassing
+how to account to Birt for the lack of a message from Nate Griggs,
+for he would not confess how untrustworthy he had proved himself.
+As he reflected upon this perplexity, he leaned his throbbing head
+on his hand, and his attitude expressed a downcast spirit.
+
+This chanced to strike his mother's attention as she came to the
+door.  She paused and looked keenly at him.
+
+"Them hoss apples ag'in!" she exclaimed, with the voice of
+accusation.  She had no idea of youthful dejection disconnected with
+the colic.
+
+Rufe was roused to defend himself.  "Hain't teched 'em, now!" he
+cried, acrimoniously.
+
+"Waal, sometimes ye air sorter loose-jointed in yer jaw, an' ain't
+partic'lar what ye say," rejoined his mother, politely.  "I'll waste
+a leetle yerb-tea on ye, ennyhow."
+
+She started back into the room, and Rufe rose at once.  This cruelty
+should not be practiced upon him, whatever might betide him at the
+tanyard.  He set out at a brisk pace.  He had no mind to be long
+alone in the woods since his strange adventure down the ravine, or
+he might have hid in the underbrush, as he had often done, until
+other matters usurped his mother's medicinal intentions.
+
+When Rufe reached the tanyard, Birt was still at work.  He turned
+and looked eagerly at the juvenile ambassador.
+
+"Did Nate gin ye a word fur me?" he called sonorously, above the
+clamor of the noisy bark-mill.
+
+"He say he'll be hyar ter-morrer by sun-up!" piped out Rufe, in a
+blatant treble.
+
+A lie seemed less reprehensible when he was obliged to labor so
+conscientiously to make it heard.
+
+And then compunction seized him.  He sat down by Tennessee on a pile
+of bark, and took off his old wool hat to mop the cold perspiration
+that had started on his head and face.  He felt sick, and sad, and
+extremely wicked,--a sorry contrast to Birt, who was so honest and
+reliable and, as his mother always said, "ez stiddy ez the
+mounting."  Birt was beginning to unharness the mule, for the day's
+work was at an end.
+
+The dusk had deepened to darkness.  The woods were full of gloom.  A
+timorous star palpitated in the sky.  In the sudden stillness when
+the bark-mill ceased its whir, the mountain torrent hard by lifted a
+mystic chant.  The drone of the katydid vibrated in the laurel, and
+the shrill-voiced cricket chirped.  Two of the men were in the shed
+examining a green hide by the light of a perforated tin lantern,
+that seemed to spill the rays in glinting white rills.  As they
+flickered across the pile of bark where Rufe and Tennessee were
+sitting, he noticed how alert Birt looked, how bright his eyes were.
+
+For Birt's hopes were suddenly renewed.  He thought that some
+mischance had detained Nate to-day, and that he would come to-morrow
+to work at the bark-mill.
+
+The boy's blood tingled at the prospect of being free to seek for
+treasure down the ravine.  He began to feel that he had been too
+quick to distrust his friend.  Perhaps the stipulation that Nate
+should not go to the ravine until the work commenced was more than
+he ought to have asked.  And perhaps, too, the trespasser was not
+Nate!  The traces of shallow delving might have been left by another
+hand.  Birt paused reflectively in unharnessing the mule.  He stood
+with the gear in one hand, serious and anxious, in view of the
+possibility that this discovery was not his alone.
+
+Then he strove to cast aside the thought.  He said to himself that
+he had been hasty in concluding that the slight excavation argued
+human presence in that lonely spot; a rock dislodged and rolling
+heavily down the gorge might have thus scraped into the sand and
+gravel; or perhaps some burrowing animal, prospecting for winter
+quarters, had begun to dig a hole under the bowlder.
+
+He was perplexed, despite his plausible reasoning, and he continued
+silent and preoccupied when he lifted Tennessee to his shoulder and
+trudged off homeward, with Rufe at his heels, and the small boy's
+conscience following sturdily in the rear.
+
+That sternly accusing conscience!  Rufe was dismayed, when he sat
+with the other laughing children about the table, to know that his
+soul was not merry.  Sometimes a sombre shadow fell upon his face,
+and once Birt asked him what was the matter.  And though he laughed
+more than ever, he felt it was very hard to be gay without the
+subtle essence of mirth.  That lie!--it seemed to grow; before
+supper was over it was as big as the warping-bars, and when they all
+sat in a semicircle in the open passage, Rufe felt that his
+conscience was the most prominent member of the party.  The young
+moon sank; the night waxed darker still; the woods murmured
+mysteriously.  And he was glad enough at last to be sent to bed,
+where after so long a time sleep found him.
+
+The morrow came in a cloud.  The light lacked the sunshine.  The
+listless air lacked the wind.  Still and sombre, the woods touched
+the murky, motionless sky.  All the universe seemed to hold a sullen
+pause.  Time was afoot--it always is--but Birt might not know how it
+sped; no shadows on the spent tan this dark day!  Over his shoulder
+he was forever glancing, hoping that Nate would presently appear
+from the woods.  He saw only the mists lurking in the laurel; they
+had autumnal presage and a chill presence.  He buttoned his coat
+about him, and the old mule sneezed as he jogged round the bark-
+mill.
+
+Jubal Perkins and a crony stood smoking much of the time to-day in
+the door of the house, looking idly out upon the brown stretch of
+spent bark, and the gray, weather-beaten sheds, and the dun sky, and
+the shadowy, mist-veiled woods.  The tanner was a tall, muscular
+man, clad in brown jeans, and with boots of a fair grade of leather
+drawn high over his trousers.  As he often remarked, "The tanyard
+owes ME good foot-gear--ef the rest o' the mounting hev ter go
+barefoot."  The expression of his face was somewhat masked by a
+heavy grizzled beard, but from beneath the wide brim of his hat his
+eyes peered out with a jocose twinkle.  His mouth seemed chiefly
+useful as a receptacle for his pipe-stem, for he spoke through his
+nose.  His voice was strident on the air, since he included in the
+conversation a workman in the shed, who was scraping with a two-
+handled knife a hide spread on a wooden horse.  This man, whose name
+was Andrew Byers, glanced up now and then, elevating a pair of
+shaggy eyebrows, and settled the affairs of the nation with
+diligence and despatch, little hindered by his labors or the
+distance.
+
+Birt took no heed of the loud drawling talk.  In moody silence he
+drove the mule around and around the bark-mill.  The patient old
+animal, being in no danger of losing his way, closed his eyes
+drowsily as he trudged, making the best of it.
+
+"I'll git ez mild-mannered an' meek-hearted ez this hyar old
+beastis, some day, ef things keep on ez disapp'intin' ez they hev
+been lately," thought Birt, miserably.  "They do say ez even he used
+ter be a turrible kicker."
+
+Noon came and went, and still the mists hung in the forest closely
+engirdling the little clearing.  The roofs glistened with moisture,
+and the eaves dripped.  A crow was cawing somewhere.  Birt had
+paused to let the mule rest, and the raucous sound caused him to
+turn his head.  His heart gave a bound when he saw that on the other
+side of the fence the underbrush was astir along the path which
+wound through the woods to the tanyard.  Somebody was coming; he
+hoped even yet that it might be Nate.  He eagerly watched the
+rustling boughs.  The crow had flown, but he heard as he waited a
+faint "caw! caw!" in the misty distance.  Whoever the newcomer might
+be, he certainly loitered.  At last the leaves parted, and revealed-
+-Rufe.
+
+Birt's first sensation was renewed disappointment.  Then he was
+disposed to investigate the mystery of Nate's non-appearance.
+
+"Hello, Rufe!" he called out, as soon as the small boy was inside
+the tanyard, "be you-uns SURE ez Nate said he'd come over by sun-
+up?"
+
+Rufe halted and gazed about him, endeavoring to conjure an
+expression of surprise into his freckled face.  He even opened his
+mouth to exhibit astonishment--exhibiting chiefly that equivocal
+tongue, and a large assortment of jagged squirrel teeth.
+
+"Hain't Nate come yit?" he ventured.
+
+The tanner suddenly put into the conversation.
+
+"War it Nate Griggs ez ye war aimin' ter trade with ter take yer
+place wunst in a while in the tanyard?"
+
+Birt assented.  "An' he 'lowed he'd be hyar ter-day by sun-up.  Rufe
+brung that word from him yestiddy."
+
+Rufe's conscience had given him a recess, during which he had
+consumed several horse-apples in considerable complacence and a
+total disregard of "yerb tea."  He had climbed a tree, and sampled a
+green persimmon, and he endured with fortitude the pucker in his
+mouth, since it enabled him to make such faces at Towse as caused
+the dog to snap and growl in a frenzy of surprised indignation.  He
+had fashioned a corn-stalk fiddle--that instrument so dear to rural
+children!--and he had been sawing away on it to his own satisfaction
+and Tennessee's unbounded admiration for the last half-hour.  He had
+forgotten that pursuing conscience till it seized upon him again in
+the tanyard.
+
+"Oh, Birt," he quavered out, suddenly, "I hain't laid eyes on Nate."
+
+Birt exclaimed indignantly, and Jubal Perkins laughed.
+
+"I seen sech a cur'ous lookin' man, down in the ravine by the lick,
+ez it sot me all catawampus!" continued Rufe.
+
+As he told of his defection, and the falsehood with which he had
+accounted for it, Jubal Perkins came to a sudden decision.
+
+"Git on that thar mule, Birt, an' ride over ter Nate's, an' find out
+what ails him, ef so be ye hanker ter know.  I don't want nobody
+workin' in this hyar tanyard ez looks ez mournful ez ye do--like ez
+ef ye hed been buried an' dug up.  But hurry back, 'kase there ain't
+enough bark ground yit, an' I hev got other turns o' work I want ye
+ter do besides 'fore dark."
+
+"War that Satan?" asked Rufe abruptly.
+
+"Whar?" exclaimed Birt, startled, and glancing hastily over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Down yander by the lick," plained Rufe.
+
+"Naw!" said Birt, scornfully, "an' nuthin' like Satan, I'll be
+bound!"
+
+He was, however, uneasy to hear of any man down the ravine in the
+neighborhood of his hidden treasure, but he could not now question
+Rufe, for Jube Perkins, with mock severity, was taking the small boy
+to account.
+
+Byers was looking on, the knife idle in his hands, and his lips
+distended with a wide grin in the anticipation of getting some fun
+out of Rufe.
+
+"Look-a-hyar, bub," said Jubal Perkins, with both hands in his
+pockets and glaring down solemnly at Rufe; "ef ever I ketches ye
+goin' of yerrands no better'n that ag'in, I'm a-goin' ter--TAN that
+thar hide o' yourn."
+
+Rufe gazed up deprecatingly, his eyes widening at the prospect.
+Byers broke into a horse laugh.
+
+"We've been wantin' some leetle varmints fur tanning ennyhow," he
+said.  "Ye'll feel mighty queer when ye stand out thar on the spent
+tan, with jes' yer meat on yer bones, an 'look up an' see yer skin
+a-hangin' alongside o' the t'other calves, an' sech--that ye will!"
+
+"An' all the mounting folks will be remarkin' on it, too," said
+Perkins.  Which no doubt they would have done with a lively
+interest.
+
+"I reckon," said Byers, looking speculatively at Rufe, "ez't would
+take a right smart time fur ye ter git tough enough ter go 'bout in
+respect'ble society ag'in.  'T would hurt ye mightily, I'm thinkin'.
+Ef I war you-uns, I'd be powerful partic'lar ter keep inside o' sech
+an accommodatin'-lookin' little hide ez yourn be fur tanning."
+
+Rufe's countenance was distorted.  He seemed about to tune up and
+whimper.  "An' ef I war you-uns, Andy Byers, I'd find su'thin'
+better ter do'n ter bait an' badger a critter the size o' Rufe!"
+exclaimed Birt angrily.
+
+"That thar boy's 'bout right, too!" said the man who had hitherto
+been standing silent in the door.
+
+"Waal, leave Rufe be, Jubal!" said Byers, laughing.  "YE started the
+fun."
+
+"Leave him be, yerself," retorted the tanner.
+
+When Birt mounted the mule, and rode out of the yard, he glanced
+back and saw that Rufe had approached the shed; judging by his
+gestures, he was asking a variety of questions touching the art of
+tanning, to which Byers amicably responded.
+
+The mists were shifting as Birt went on and on.  He heard the acorns
+dropping from the chestnut-oaks--sign that the wind was awake in the
+woods.  Like a glittering, polished blade, at last a slanting
+sunbeam fell.  It split the gloom, and a radiant afternoon seemed to
+emerge.  The moist leaves shone; far down the aisles of the woods
+the fugitive mists, in elusive dryadic suggestions, chased each
+other into the distance.  Although the song-birds were all silent,
+there was a chirping somewhere--cheerful sound!  He had almost
+reached his destination when a sudden rustling in the undergrowth by
+the roadside caused him to turn and glance back.
+
+Two or three shoats lifted their heads and were gazing at him with
+surprise, and a certain disfavor, as if they did not quite like his
+looks.  A bevy of barefooted, tow-headed children were making mud
+pies in a marshy dip close by.  An ancient hound, that had renounced
+the chase and assumed in his old age the office of tutor, seemed to
+preside with dignity and judgment.  He, too, had descried the
+approach of the stranger.  He growled, but made no other
+demonstration.
+
+"Whar's Nate?" Birt called out, for these were the children of
+Nate's eldest brother.
+
+For a moment there was no reply.  Then the smallest of the small
+boys shrilly piped out, "He hev gone away!--him an' gran'dad's
+claybank mare."
+
+Another unexpected development!  "When will he come back?"
+
+"Ain't goin' ter come back fur two weeks."
+
+"Whar 'bouts hev he gone?" asked Birt amazed.
+
+"Dunno," responded the same little fellow.
+
+"When did he set out?"
+
+There was a meditative pause.  Then ensued a jumbled bickering.  The
+small boys, the shoats, and the hound seemed to consult together in
+the endeavor to distinguish "day 'fore yestiddy" from "las' week."
+The united intellect of the party was inadequate.
+
+"Dunno!" the mite of a spokesman at last admitted.
+
+Birt rode on rapidly once more, leaving this choice syndicate
+settling down again to the mud pies.
+
+The woods gave way presently and revealed, close to a precipice,
+Nate's home.  The log house with its chimney of clay and sticks, the
+barn of ruder guise, the fodder-stack, the ash-hopper, and the rail
+fence were all imposed in high relief against the crimson west and
+the purpling ranges in the distance.  The little cabin was quite
+alone in the world.  No other house, no field, no clearing, was
+visible in all the vast expanse of mountains and valleys which it
+overlooked.  The great panorama of nature seemed to be unrolled for
+it only.  The seasons passed in review before it.  The moon rose,
+waxing or waning, as if for its behoof.  The sun conserved for it a
+splendid state.
+
+But the skies above it had sterner moods,--sometimes lightnings
+veined the familiar clouds; winds rioted about it; the thunder spoke
+close at hand.  And then it was that Mrs. Griggs lamented her
+husband's course in "raisin' the house hyar so nigh the bluffs ez ef
+it war an' aigle's nest," and forgot that she had ever accounted
+herself "sifflicated" when distant from the airy cliffs.
+
+She stood in the doorway now, her arms akimbo--an attitude that
+makes a woman of a certain stamp seem more masterful than a man.
+Her grizzled locks were ornamented by a cotton cap with a wide and
+impressive ruffle, which, swaying and nodding, served to emphasize
+her remarks.  She was conferring in a loud drawl with her husband,
+who had let down the bars to admit his horse, laden with a newly
+killed deer.  Her manner would seem to imply that she, and not he,
+had slain the animal.
+
+"Toler'ble fat," she commented with grave self-complacence.  "He
+'minds me sorter o' that thar tremenjious buck we hed las'
+September.  HE war the fattes' buck I ever see.  Take off his hide
+right straight."
+
+The big cap-ruffle flapped didactically.
+
+"Lor'-a--massy, woman!" vociferated the testy old man; "ain't I a-
+goin' ter?  Ter hear ye a-jowin', a-body would think I had never
+shot nothin' likelier'n a yaller-hammer sence I been born.  S'pos'n
+ye jes' takes ter goin' a-huntin', an' skinnin' deer, an' cuttin'
+wood, an' doin' my work ginerally.  Pears-like ye think ye knows mo'
+'bout'n my work'n I does.  An' I'll bide hyar at the house."
+
+Mrs. Griggs nodded her head capably, in nowise dismayed.  "I dunno
+but that plan would work mighty well," she said.
+
+This conjugal colloquy terminated as she glanced up and saw Birt.
+
+"Why, thar's young Dicey a-hint ye.  Howdy Birt!  'Light an' hitch!"
+
+"Naw'm," rejoined Birt, as he rode into the enclosure and close up
+to the doorstep.  "I hain't got time ter 'light."  Then
+precipitately opening the subject of his mission.  "I kem over hyar
+ter see Nate.  Whar hev he disappeared ter?"
+
+"Waal, now, that's jes' what I'd like ter know," she replied, her
+face eloquent with baffled curiosity.  "He jes' borried his dad's
+claybank mare, an' sot out, an' never 'lowed whar he war bound fur.
+Nate hev turned twenty-one year old," she continued, "an' he 'lows
+he air a man growed, an' obligated ter obey nobody but hisself.
+From the headin' way that he kerries on hyar, a-body would s'pose he
+air older 'n the Cumberland Mountings!  But he hev turned twenty-
+one--that's a fac'--an' he voted at the las' election."
+
+(With how much discretion it need not now be inquired.)
+
+"I knows that air true," said Birt, who had wistfully admired this
+feat of his senior.
+
+"Waal--Nate don't set much store by votin'," rejoined Mrs. Griggs.
+"Nate, he say, the greatest privilege his kentry kin confer on him
+is ter make it capital punishment fur wimmen ter ax him questions!--
+Which I hev done," she admitted stoutly.
+
+And the ruffle on her cap did not deny it.
+
+"Nate air twenty-one," she reiterated.  "An' I s'pose he 'lows ez I
+hev no call nowadays ter be his mother."
+
+"Hain't ye got no guess whar he be gone?" asked Birt, dismayed by
+this strange new complication.
+
+"Waal, I hev been studyin' it out ez Nate mought hev rid ter Parch
+Corn, whar his great-uncle, Joshua Peters, lives--him that merried
+my aunt, Melissy Baker, ez war a widder then, though born a Scruggs.
+An' then, ag'in, Nate MOUGHT hev tuk it inter his head ter go ter
+the Cross-roads, a-courtin' a gal thar ez he hev been talkin' about
+powerful, lately.  But they tells me," Mrs. Griggs expostulated, as
+it were, "that them gals at the Cross-roads is in no way desirable,-
+-specially this hyar Elviry Mills, ez mighty nigh all the boys on
+the mounting hev los' thar wits about,--what little wits ez they
+ever hed ter lose, I mean ter say.  But Nate thinks he hev got a
+right ter a ch'ice, bein' ez he air turned twenty-one."
+
+"Did he say when he 'lowed ter come back?" Birt asked.
+
+"'Bout two or three weeks Nate laid off ter be away; but whar he hev
+gone, an' what's his yerrand, he let no human know," returned Mrs.
+Griggs.  "I hev been powerful aggervated 'bout this caper o' Nate's.
+I ain't afeard he'll git hisself hurt no ways whilst he be gone, for
+Nate is mighty apt ter take keer o' Nate."  She nodded her head
+convincingly, and the great ruffle on her cap shook in
+corroboration.  "But I hain't never hed the right medjure o' respec'
+out'n Nate, an' his dad hain't, nuther."
+
+Birt listened vaguely to this account of his friend's filial
+shortcomings, his absent eyes fixed upon the wide landscape, and his
+mind busy with the anxious problems of Nate's broken promises.
+
+And the big red ball of the setting sun seemed at last to roll off
+the plane of the horizon, and it disappeared amidst the fiery
+emblazonment of clouds with which it had enriched the west.  But all
+the world was not so splendid; midway below the dark purple summits
+a dun, opaque vapor asserted itself in dreary, aerial suspension.
+Beneath it he could see a file of cows, homeward bound, along the
+road that encircled the mountain's base.  He heard them low, and
+this reminded him that night was near, for all that the zenith was
+azure, and for all that the west was aglow.  And he remembered he
+had a good many odd jobs to do before dark.  And so he turned his
+face homeward.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Birt had always been held in high esteem by the men at the tanyard.
+Suddenly, however, the feeling toward him cooled.  He remembered
+afterward, although at the time he was too absorbed to fully
+appreciate it, that this change began one day shortly after he had
+learned of Nate's departure.  As he went mechanically about his
+work, he was pondering futilely upon his friend's mysterious
+journey, and his tantalizing hopes lying untried in the depths of
+the ravine.  He hardly noticed the conversation of the men until
+something was said that touched upon the wish nearest his heart.
+
+"I war studyin' 'bout lettin' Birt hev a day off," said the tanner.
+"An' ye'll bide hyar."
+
+"Naw, Jube--naw!" Andy Byers replied with stalwart independence to
+his employer.  "I hev laid off ter attend.  Ef ye want ennybody ter
+bide with the tanyard, an' keer fur this hyar pit, ye kin do it
+yerse'f, or else Birt kin.  _I_ hev laid off ter attend."
+
+Andy Byers was a man of moods.  His shaggy eyebrows to-day
+overshadowed eyes sombre and austere.  He seemed, if possible, a
+little slower than was his wont.  He bore himself with a sour
+solemnity, and he was at once irritable and dejected.
+
+"Shucks, Andy! ye knows ye ain't no kin sca'cely ter the old woman;
+ye couldn't count out how ye air kin ter her ter save yer life.
+Now, I'M obleeged ter attend."
+
+It so happened that the tanner's great-aunt was distantly related to
+Andy Byers.  Being ill, and an extremely old woman, she was supposed
+to be lying at the point of death, and her kindred had been summoned
+to hear her last words.
+
+"I hed 'lowed ter gin Birt a day off, 'kase I hev got ter hev the
+mule in the wagon, an' he can't grind bark.  I PROMISED Birt a day
+off," the tanner continued.
+
+"That thar's twixt ye an' Birt.  I hain't got no call ter meddle,"
+said the obdurate Byers.  "Ye kin bide with the tanyard an' finish
+this job yerse'f, of so minded.  I'm goin' ter attend."
+
+"I reckon half the kentry-side will be thar, an' _I_ wants ter see
+the folks," said Jubal Perkins, cheerfully.
+
+"Then Birt will hev ter bide with the tanyard, an' finish this job.
+It don't lie with me ter gin him a day off.  I don't keer ef he
+never gits a day off," said Byers.
+
+This was an unnecessarily unkind speech, and Birt's anger flamed
+out.
+
+"Ef we-uns war of a size, Andy Byers," he said, hotly, "I'd make ye
+divide work a leetle more ekal than ye does."
+
+Andy Byers dropped the hide in his hands, and looked steadily across
+the pit at Birt, as if he were taking the boy's measure.
+
+"Ye mean ter say ef ye hed the bone an' muscle ye'd knock me down,
+do ye?" he sneered.  "Waal, I'll take the will fur the deed.  I'll
+hold the grudge agin ye, jes' the same."
+
+They were all three busied about the pit.  The hides had been taken
+out, and stratified anew, with layers of fresh tan, reversing the
+original order,--those that had been at the bottom now being placed
+at the top.  The operation was almost complete before Jubal Perkins
+received the news of his relative's precarious condition.  He had no
+doubt that Birt was able to finish it properly, and the boy's
+conscientious habit of doing his best served to make the tanner's
+mind quite easy.  As to the day off, he was glad to have that
+question settled by a quarrel between his employees, thus relieving
+him of responsibility.
+
+Birt's wrath was always evanescent, and he was sorry a moment
+afterward for what he had said.  Andy Byers exchanged no more words
+with him, and skillfully combined a curt and crusty manner toward
+him with an aspect of contemplative dreariness.  Occasionally, as
+they paused to rest, Byers would sigh deeply.
+
+"A mighty good old woman, Mrs. Price war."  He spoke as if she were
+already dead.  "A mighty good old woman, though small-sized."
+
+"A little of her went a long way.  She war eighty-four year old, an'
+kep' a sharp tongue in her head ter the las'," rejoined the tanner,
+adopting in turn the past tense.
+
+Rufe listened with startled interest.  Now and then he cocked up his
+speculative eyes, and gazed fixedly into the preternaturally solemn
+face of Byers, who reiterated, "A good old woman, though small-
+sized."
+
+With this unaccustomed absorption Rufe's accomplishment of getting
+under-foot became pronounced.  The tanner jostled him more than
+once, Birt stumbled against his toes, and Byers, suddenly turning,
+ran quite over him.  Rufe had not far to fall, but Byers was a tall
+man.  His arms swayed like the sails of a windmill in the effort to
+recover his balance.  He was in danger of toppling into the pit, and
+in fact only caught himself on his knees at its verge.
+
+"Ye torment!" he roared angrily, as he struggled to his feet.
+"G'way from hyar, or I'll skeer ye out'n yer wits!"
+
+The small boy ruefully gathered his members together, and after the
+men had started on their journey he sat down on a pile of wood hard
+by to give Birt his opinion of Andy Byers.
+
+"He air a toler'ble mean man, ain't he, Birt?"
+
+But Birt said he had no mind to talk about Andy Byers.
+
+"SKEER ME!" exclaimed Rufe, doughtily.  "It takes a heap ter skeer
+ME!"
+
+He got up presently, and going into the shed began to examine the
+tools of the trade which were lying there.  He had the two-handled
+knife, with which he was about to try his skill on a hide that was
+stretched over the beam of the wooden horse, when Birt glanced up
+and came hastily to the rescue.  Rufe was disposed to further
+investigate the appliances of the tanyard left defenseless at his
+mercy, but at last Birt prevailed on him to go home and play with
+Tennessee, and was glad enough to see his tow-head, with his old hat
+perched precariously on it, bobbing up and down among the low
+bushes, as he wended his way along the path through the woods.
+
+The hides had all been replaced between layers of fresh tan before
+the men left, and Birt had only to fill up the space above with a
+thicker layer, ten or fifteen inches deep, and put the boards
+securely across the top of the pit, with heavy stones upon them to
+weight them down.  But this kept him busy all the rest of the
+afternoon.
+
+Rufe was pretty busy too.  When he came in sight of home Tennessee
+was the first object visible in the open passage.  The sunshine
+slanted through it under the dusky roof, and the shadows of the
+chestnut-oak, hard by, dappled the floor.  Lying there was an old
+Mexican saddle, for which there was no use since the horse had died.
+Tennessee was mounted upon it, the reins in her hands, the headstall
+and bit poised on the peaked pommel.  She jounced back and forth,
+and the skirts of the saddle flapped and the stirrups clanked on the
+floor, and the absorbed eyes of the little mountaineer were fixed on
+space.
+
+Away and away she cantered on some splendid imaginary palfrey,
+through scenes where conjecture fails to follow her:  a land,
+doubtless, where all the winds blow fair, and sparkling waters run,
+and jeopardy delights, and fancy's license prevails--all very
+different, you may be sure, from the facts, an old saddle on a
+puncheon floor, and a little black-eyed mountaineer.
+
+How far Tennessee journeyed, and how long she was gone, it is
+impossible to say.  She halted suddenly when her attention was
+attracted to a phenomenon within one of the rooms.
+
+The door was ajar and the solitary Rufe was visible in the dusky
+vista.  He stood before a large wooden chest.  He had lifted the
+lid, and kept it up by resting it upon his head, bent forward for
+the purpose, while he rummaged the contents with vandal hands.
+
+Tennessee stared at him, with indignant surprise gathering in her
+widening eyes.
+
+Now that chest contained, besides a meagre store of quilts and
+comforts, her own and her mother's clothes, the fewer garments of
+the boys of the family being alternately suspended on the clothes-
+line and their own frames.  She resented the sacrilege of Rufe's
+invasion of that chest.  She turned on the saddle and looked around
+with an air of appeal.  Her mother, however, was down the hill
+beside the spring, busy boiling soap, and quite out of hearing.
+Tennessee gazed vaguely for a moment at the great kettle with the
+red and yellow flames curling around it, and her mother's figure
+hovering over it.  Then she looked back at Rufe.
+
+He continued industriously churning up the contents of the chest,
+the lid still poised upon that head that served so many other useful
+purposes--for the gymnastic exhibition involved in standing on it;
+for his extraordinary mental processes; for a lodgment for his old
+wool hat, and a field for his crop of flaxen hair.
+
+All the instinct of the proprietor was roused within Tennessee.  She
+found her voice, a hoarse, infantile wheeze.
+
+"Tum out'n chist!" she exclaimed, gutturally.  "Tum out'n chist!"
+
+Rufe turned his tow-head slowly, that he might not disturb the poise
+of the lid of the chest resting upon it.  He fixed a solemn stare on
+Tennessee, and drawing one hand from the depths of the chest, he
+silently shook his fist.  And then he resumed his researches.
+
+Tennessee, alarmed by this impressive demonstration, dismounted
+hastily from the saddle as soon as his threatening gaze was
+withdrawn.  She tangled her feet in the stirrups and her hands in
+the reins, and lost more time in scrambling off the floor of the
+passage and down upon the ground; but at last she was fairly on her
+way to the spring to convey an account to her mother of the outlaw
+in the chest.  In fact, she was not far from the scene of the soap-
+boiling when she heard her name shouted in stentorian tones, and
+pausing to look back, she saw Rufe gleefully capering about in the
+passage, the headstall on his own head, the bit hanging on his
+breast, and the reins dangling at his heels.
+
+Now this beguilement the little girl could never withstand, and
+indeed few people ever had the opportunity to drive so frisky and
+high-spirited a horse as Rufe was when he consented to assume the
+bit and bridle.  He was rarely so accommodating, as he preferred the
+role of driver, with what he called "a pop-lashEE!" at command.  She
+forgot her tell-tale mission.  She turned with a gurgle of delight
+and began to toddle up the hill again.  And presently Mrs. Dicey,
+glancing toward the house, saw them playing together in great amity,
+and rejoiced that they gave her so little trouble.
+
+They were still at it when Birt came home, but then Tennessee was
+tired of driving, and he let her go with him to the wood-pile and
+sit on a log while he swung the axe.  No one took special notice of
+Rufe's movements in the interval before supper.  He disappeared for
+a time, but when the circle gathered around the table he was in his
+place and by no means a non-combatant in the general onslaught on
+the corn-dodgers.  Afterward he came out in the passage and sat
+quietly among the others.
+
+The freshened air was fragrant, and how the crickets were chirring
+in the grass!  On every spear the dew was a-glimmer, for a lustrous
+moon shone from the sky.  Somehow, despite the long roads of light
+that this splendid pioneer blazed out in the wilderness, it seemed
+only to reveal the loneliness of the forests, and to give new
+meaning to the solemnity of the shadows.  The heart was astir with
+some responsive thrill that jarred vaguely, and was pain.  Yet the
+night had its melancholy fascination, and they were all awake later
+than usual.  When at last the doors were barred, and the house grew
+still, and even the vigilant Towse had ceased to bay and had lodged
+himself under the floor of the passage, the moon still shone in
+isolated effulgence, for the faint stars faded before it.
+
+The knowledge that in all the vast stretch of mountain fastnesses he
+was the only human creature that beheld it, as it majestically
+crossed the meridian, gave Andy Byers a forlorn feeling, while
+tramping along homeward.  He had made the journey afoot, some eight
+miles down the valley, and was later far in returning than others
+who had heeded the summons of the sick woman.  For she still lay in
+the same critical condition, and his mind was full of dismal
+forebodings as he toiled along the road on the mountain's brow.  The
+dark woods were veined with shimmering silver.  The mists, hovering
+here and there, showed now a blue and now an amber gleam as the
+moon's rays conjured them.  On one side of the road an oak tree had
+been uptorn in a wind-storm; the roots, carrying a great mass of
+earth with them, were thrust high in the air, while the bole and
+leafless branches lay prone along the ground.  This served as a
+break in the density of the forest, and the white moonshine
+possessed the vacant space.
+
+As he glanced in that direction his heart gave a great bound, then
+seemed suddenly to stand still.  There, close to the verge of the
+road, as if she had stepped aside to let him pass, was the figure of
+an old woman--a small-sized woman, tremulous and bent.  It looked
+like old Mrs. Price!  As he paused amazed, with starting eyes and
+failing limbs, the wind fluttered her shawl and her ample sunbonnet.
+This shielded her face and he could not see her features.  Her head
+seemed to turn toward him.  The next instant it nodded at him
+familiarly.
+
+To the superstitions mountaineer this suggested that the old woman
+had died since he had left her house, and here was her ghost already
+vagrant in the woods!
+
+The foolish fellow did not wait to put this fancy to the test.  With
+a piercing cry he sprang past, and fled like a frightened deer
+through the wilderness homeward.
+
+In his own house he hardly felt more secure.  He could not rest--he
+could not sleep.  He stirred the embers with a trembling hand, and
+sat shivering over them.  His wife, willing enough to believe in
+"harnts"* as appearing to other people, was disposed to repudiate
+them when they presumed to offer their dubious association to
+members of her own family circle.
+
+* Ghosts.
+
+"Dell-law!" she exclaimed scornfully.  "I say harnt!  Old Mrs.
+Price, though spry ter the las', war so proud o' her age an' her
+ailments that she wouldn't hev nobody see her walk a step, or stand
+on her feet, fur nuthin'.  Her darter-in-law tole me ez the only way
+ter find out how nimble she really be war ter box one o' her
+gran'chill'n, an' then she'd bounce out'n her cheer, an' jounce
+round the room after thar daddy or mammy, whichever hed boxed the
+chill'n.  That fursaken couple always hed ter drag thar chill'n out
+in the woods, out'n earshot of the house, ter whip 'em, an' then
+threat 'em ef they dare let thar granny know they hed been struck.
+But elsewise she hed ter be lifted from her bed ter her cheer by the
+h'a'th.  She wouldn't hev HER sperit seen a-walkin' way up hyar a-
+top o' the mounting, like enny healthy harnt, fur nuthin' in this
+worl'.  Whatever 'twar, 'twarn't HER.  An' I reckon of the truth war
+knowed, 'twarn't nuthin' at all--forg, mebbe."
+
+This stalwart reasoning served to steady his nerves a little.  And
+when the moon went down and the day was slowly breaking, he took his
+way, with a vacillating intention and many a chilling doubt, along
+the winding road to the scene of his fright.
+
+It was not yet time by a good hour or more to go to work, and
+nothing was stirring.  A wan light was on the landscape when he came
+in sight of the great tree prone upon the ground.  And there, close
+to the edge of the road, as if she had stepped aside to let him
+pass, was the figure of a little, bent old woman--nay, in the
+brightening dawn, a bush--a blackberry bush, clad in a blue-checked
+apron, a red plaid shawl, and with a neat sunbonnet nodding on its
+topmost spray.
+
+His first emotion was intense relief.  Then he stood staring at the
+bush in rising indignation.  This sandy by-way of a road led only to
+his own house, and this image of a small and bent old woman had
+doubtless been devised, to terrify him, by some one who knew of his
+mission, and that he could not return except by this route.
+
+Only for a moment did he feel uncertain as to the ghost-maker's
+identity.  There was something singularly familiar to him in the
+plaid of the shawl--even in the appearance of the bonnet, although
+it was now limp and damp.  He saw it at "meet'n" whenever the
+circuit rider preached, and he presently recognized it.  This was
+Mrs. Dicey's bonnet!
+
+His face hardened.  He set his teeth together.  An angry flush
+flared to the roots of his hair.
+
+Not that he suspected the widow of having set this trap to frighten
+him.  He was not learned, nor versed in feminine idiosyncrasies, but
+it does not require much wisdom to know that on no account whatever
+does a woman's best bonnet stay out all night in the dew,
+intentionally.  The presence of her bonnet proved the widow's alibi.
+
+Like a flash he remembered Birt's anger the previous day.  "Told me
+he'd make me divide work mo' ekal, an' ez good ez said he'd knock me
+down ef he could.  An' I told him I'd hold the grudge agin him jes'
+the same--an' I will!"
+
+He felt sure that it was Birt who had thus taken revenge, because he
+was kept at work while his fellow-laborer was free to go.
+
+Byers thought the boy would presently come to take the garments
+home, and conceal his share in the matter, before any one else would
+be likely to stir abroad.
+
+"An' I'll hide close by with a good big hickory stick, an' I'll gin
+him a larrupin' ez he won't furgit in a month o' Sundays," he
+resolved, angrily.
+
+He opened his clasp-knife, and walked slowly into the woods, looking
+about for a choice hickory sprout.  He did not at once find one of a
+size that he considered appropriate to the magnitude of Birt's
+wickedness, and he went further perhaps than he realized, and stayed
+longer.
+
+He had a smile of stern satisfaction on his face when he was lopping
+off the leaves and twigs of a specimen admirably adapted for
+vengeance.  He was stealthy in returning, keeping behind the trees,
+and slipping softly from bole to bole.  At last, as the winding road
+was once more in view, he crouched down behind the roots of the
+great fallen oak.
+
+"I don't want him ter git a glimge of me, an' skeer him off afore I
+kin lay a-holt on him," he said.
+
+He intended to keep the neighboring bush under close watch, and
+through the interlacing roots he peered out furtively at it.  His
+eyes distended and he hastily rose from his hiding-place.
+
+The blackberry bush was swaying in the wind, clothed only in its own
+scant and rusty leaves.  A wren perched on a spray, chirped cheerful
+matins.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+His scheme was thwarted.  The boy had come and gone in his absence,
+all unaware of his proximity and the impending punishment so
+narrowly escaped.
+
+But when Andy Byers reached the tanyard and went to work, he said
+nothing to Birt.  He did not even allude to the counterfeit
+apparition in the woods, although Mrs. Price's probable recovery was
+more than once under discussion among the men who came and went,--
+indeed, she lived many years thereafter, to defend her lucky
+grandchildren against every device of discipline.  Byers had given
+heed to more crafty counsels.  On the whole he was now glad that he
+had not had the opportunity to make Birt and the hickory sprout
+acquainted with each other.  This would be an acknowledgment that he
+had been terrified by the manufactured ghost, and he preferred
+foregoing open revenge to encountering the jocose tanner's ridicule,
+and the gibes that would circulate at his expense throughout the
+country-side.  But he cherished the grievance, and he resolved that
+Birt should rue it.  He had expected that Birt would boast of having
+frightened him.  He intended to admit that he had been a trifle
+startled, and in treating the matter thus lightly he hoped it would
+seem that the apparition was a failure.
+
+However, day by day passed and nothing was said.  The ghost vanished
+as mysteriously as it had come.  Only Mrs. Dicey, taking her bonnet
+and apron and shawl from the chest, was amazed at the extraordinary
+manner in which they were folded and at their limp condition, and
+when she found a bunch of cockle-burs in the worsted fringes of the
+shawl she declared that witches must have had it, for she had not
+worn it since early in April when there were no cockle-burs.  She
+forthwith nailed a horseshoe on the door to keep the witches out,
+and she never liked the shawl so well after she had projected a
+mental picture of a lady wearing it, riding on a broomstick, and
+sporting also a long peaked nose.
+
+Birt hardly noticed the crusty and ungracious conduct of Andy Byers
+toward him.  He worked on doggedly, scheming all the time to get off
+from the tanyard, and wondering again and again why Nate had gone,
+and where, and when he would return.
+
+One day--a gray day it was and threatening rain--as he came suddenly
+out of the shed, he saw a boy at the bars.  It was Nate Griggs!  No;
+only for a moment he thought this was Nate.  But this fellow's eyes
+were not so close together; his hair was less sandy; there were no
+facial indications of extreme slyness.  It was only Nathan's humble
+likeness, his younger brother, Timothy.
+
+He had Nate's coat thrown over his arm, and he shouldered his
+brother's rifle.
+
+Tim came slouching slowly into the tanyard, a good-natured grin on
+his face.  He paused only to knock Rufe's hat over his eyes, as the
+small boy stood in front of the low-spirited mule, both hands busy
+with the animal's mouth, striving to open his jaws to judge by his
+teeth how old he might be.
+
+"The critter'll bite ye, Rufe!" Birt exclaimed, for as Rufe stooped
+to pick up his hat the mule showed some curiosity in his turn, and
+was snuffling at Rufe's hay-colored hair.
+
+Rufe readjusted his head-gear, and ceasing his impolite researches
+into the mule's age, came up to the other two boys.  Tim had paused
+by the shed, and leaning upon the rifle, began to talk.
+
+"I war a-passin' by, an' I thought I'd drap in on ye."
+
+"Hev you-uns hearn from Nate since he hev been gone away?" demanded
+Birt anxiously.
+
+"He hev come home," responded Tim.
+
+"When did he git home?" Birt asked with increasing suspicion.
+
+"Las' week," said Tim carelessly.
+
+Another problem!  Why had Nate not communicated with his partner
+about their proposed work?  It seemed a special avoidance.
+
+"I onderstood ez how he aimed ter bide away longer," Birt remarked.
+
+"He did count on stayin' longer," said Tim, "but he rid night an'
+day ter git hyar sooner.  It 'pears like ter me he war in sech a
+hurry so ez ter start ME ter work, and nuthin' else in this worl'.
+I owe Nate a debt, ye see, an' I hev ter work it out.  I hev been so
+onlucky ez I couldn't make out ter pay him nohow in the worl'.  Ye
+see, I traded with Nate fur a shoat, an' the spiteful beastis
+sneaked out'n my pen, an' went rootin' round the aidge o' the
+clearin', an' war toted off bodaciously by a bar ez war a-prowlin'
+round thar.  An' I got no good o' that thar shoat, 'kase the bar hed
+him, but I hed to pay fur him all the same.  An' dad gin his
+cornsent ter Nate ter let me work a month an' better fur him, ter
+pay out'n debt fur the shoat."
+
+"What work be you-uns goin' ter do?"  Birt had a strong impression,
+amounting to a conviction, that there was something behind all this,
+which he was slowly approaching.
+
+"Why," said Tim, in surprise, "hain't ye hearn bout'n Nate's new
+land what he hev jes' got 'entered' ez he calls it?  He hev got a
+grant fur it from the land-office down yander in Sparty, whar he hev
+been."
+
+"New land--'ENTERED!'" faltered Birt.
+
+Tim nodded.  "Nate fund a trac' o' land a-layin' ter suit his mind
+what b'longed ter nobody but the State--vacant land, ye see--an' so
+he went ter the 'entry-taker,' they calls him, an' gits it
+'entered,' an' the surveyor kem an' medjured it, an' then Nate got a
+grant fur it, an' now it air his'n.  The Gov'nor o' the State hev
+sot his name ter that thar grant--the Gov'nor o' Tennessee!"
+reiterated Tim pridefully.  "An' the great seal o' the State!"
+
+"Whar be the land?" gasped Birt, possessed by a dreadful fear.
+
+His face was white, its muscles rigid.  Its altered expression could
+not for an instant have escaped the notice of Timothy's brother
+Nathan.
+
+"Why, it lays bout'n haffen mile off--all down the ravine nigh that
+thar salt-lick; but look-a-hyar, Birt--what ails ye?"
+
+The stunned despair in the white face had at last arrested his
+careless attention.
+
+"Don't ye be mindin' of me--I feel sorter porely an' sick all of a
+suddint; tell on 'bout the land an' sech," said Birt.
+
+He sat down on the end of the wood-pile, and Tim, still leaning on
+the rifle, recommenced.  He was generally much cowed and kept down
+by Nate, and was unaccustomed to respect and consideration.
+Therefore he felt a certain gratification in having so attentive a
+listener.
+
+"Waal, I never hearn o' this fashion o' enterin' land like Nate done
+in all my life afore; though dad say that's the law in Tennessee,
+ter git a title ter vacant land ez jes' b'longs ter the State.
+Mebbe them air the ways ez Nate l'arned whilst he war a-hangin'
+round the Settlemint so constant, an' forever talkin' ter the men
+thar."
+
+Birt's precocity had never let him feel at a disadvantage with Nate,
+although his friend was five years older.  Now he began to
+appreciate that Nate was indeed a man grown, and had become
+sophisticated in the ways of his primitive world by his association
+with the other men at the Settlement.
+
+There was a pause.  But the luxury of being allowed to talk without
+contradiction or rebuke presently induced Tim to proceed.
+
+"He war hyar mighty nigh all day long," he said reflectively.  "He
+eat his dinner along of we-uns."
+
+"Who? the Gov'nor o' the State?" exclaimed Birt, astounded.
+
+"Naw, 'twarn't HIM," Tim admitted somewhat reluctantly, since Birt
+seemed disposed to credit "we-uns" with a gubernatorial guest.
+"It's the surveyor I'm talkin' 'bout.  Nate hed ter pay him three
+dollars an' better fur medjurin' the land.  He tole Nate ez his land
+war ez steep an' rocky a spot ez thar war in Tennessee from e-end
+ter e-end.  He axed Nate what ailed him ter hanker ter pay taxes on
+sech a pack o' bowlders an' bresh.  He 'lowed the land warn't wuth a
+cent an acre."
+
+"What did Nate say?" asked Birt, who hung with feverish interest on
+every thoughtless word.
+
+"Waal, Nate 'lows ez he hev fund a cur'ous metal on his land; he say
+it air GOLD!"  Tim opened his eyes very wide, and smacked his lips,
+as if the word tasted good.  "He 'lowed ez he needn't hev been in
+sech a hurry ter enter his land, 'kase the entry-taker told it ter
+him ez it air the law in Tennessee ez ennybody ez finds a mine or
+val'able min'ral on vacant land hev got six months extry ter enter
+the land afore ennybody else kin, an' ef ennybody else wants ter
+enter it, they hev ter gin the finder o' the mine thirty days'
+notice."
+
+Tim winked, an impressive demonstration but for the insufficiency of
+eyelashes:  -
+
+"The surveyor he misdoubted, an' 'lowed ez gold hed never been fund
+in these parts.  He said they fund gold in them mountings furder
+east 'bout twenty odd year ago--in 1831, I believe he said.  He
+'lowed them mountings hain't got no coal like our'n hev, an' the
+Cumberland Mountings hain't got no gold.  An' then in a minit he tuk
+ter misdoubtin' on the t'other side o' his mouth.  He 'lowed ez
+Nate's min'ral MOUGHT be gold, an' then ag'in it moughtn't."
+
+The essential difference between these two extremes has afforded
+scope for vacillation to more consistent men than the surveyor.
+
+"Thar's the grant right now, in the pocket o' Nate's coat," said
+Tim, shifting the garment on his arm to show a stiff, white folded
+paper sticking out of the breast pocket.  "I reckon when he tole me
+ter tote his gun an' coat home, he furgot the grant war in his
+pocket, 'kase he fairly dotes on it, an' won't trest it out'n his
+sight."
+
+Nate was in the habit of exacting similar services from his
+acquiescent younger brother, and Tim had his hands full, as he tried
+to hold the gun, and turn the coat on his arm.  He finally hung the
+garment on a peg in the shed, and shouldered the weapon.  Suddenly
+he whirled around toward Rufe, who was still standing by.
+
+"What in the nation air inside o' that thar boy?" he exclaimed.  "A
+chicken, ain't it?"
+
+For a musical treble chirping was heard proceeding apparently from
+Rufe's pocket.  This chicken differed from others that Rufe had put
+away, in being alive and hearty.
+
+The small boy entered into the conversation with great spirit, to
+tell that a certain hen which he owned had yesterday come off her
+nest with fourteen of the spryest deedies that ever stepped.  One in
+especial had so won upon Rufe by its beauty and grace of deportment
+that he was carrying it about with him, feeding it at close
+intervals, and housing it in the security of his pocket.
+
+The deedie hardly made a moan.  There was no use in remonstrating
+with Rufe,--everything that came within his eccentric orbit seemed
+to realize that,--and the deedie was contentedly nestling down in
+his pocket, apparently resigned to lead the life of a portemonnaie.
+
+Rufe narrated with pardonable pride the fact that, some time before,
+his great-uncle, Rufus Dicey, had sent to him from the "valley
+kentry" a present of a pair of game chickens, and that this deedie
+was from the first egg hatched in the game hen's brood.
+
+But Rufe was not selfish.  He offered to give Tim one of the chicks.
+Now poultry was Tim's weakness.  He accepted with more haste than
+was seemly, and at once asked for the deedie in the small boy's
+pocket.  Rufe, however, refused to part from the chick of his
+adoption, and presently Tim, with the gun on his shoulder, left the
+tanyard in company with Rufe, to look over the brood of game chicks,
+and make a selection from among them.
+
+Birt hardly noticed what they did or said.  Every faculty was
+absorbed in considering the wily game which his false friend had
+played so successfully.  It was all plain enough now.  The fruit of
+his discovery would be plucked by other hands.  There was to be no
+division of the profits.  Nate Griggs had coveted the whole.  His
+craft had secured it for himself alone.  He had the legal title to
+the land, the mine--all!  There seemed absolutely no vulnerable
+point in his scheme.  With suddenly sharpened perceptions, Birt
+realized that if he should now claim the discovery and the
+consequent right of thirty days' notice of Nate's intention, by
+virtue of the priority of entering land accorded by the statute to
+the finder of a mine or valuable mineral, it would be considered a
+groundless boast, actuated by envy and jealousy.  He had told no one
+but Nate of his discovery--and would not Nate now deny it!
+
+However, one thing in the future was certain,--Nathan Griggs should
+not escape altogether scathless.  For a long time Birt sat
+motionless, revolving vengeful purposes in his mind.  Every moment
+he grew more bitter, as he reflected upon his wrecked scheme, his
+wonderful fatuity, and the double dealing of his chosen coadjutor.
+But he would get even with Nate Griggs yet; he promised himself
+that,--he would get even!
+
+At last the falling darkness warned him home.  When he rose his
+limbs trembled, his head was in a whirl, and the familiar scene
+swayed, strange and distorted, before him.  He steadied himself
+after a moment, finished the odd jobs he had left undone, and
+presently was trudging homeward.
+
+A heavy black cloud overhung the woods; an expectant stillness
+brooded upon the sultry world; an angry storm was in the air.  The
+first vivid flash and simultaneous peal burst from the sky as he
+reached the passage between the two rooms.
+
+"Ye air powerful perlite ter come a-steppin' home jes' at supper-
+time," said his mother advancing to meet him.  "Ye lef' no wood
+hyar, an' ye said ye would borry the mule, an' come home early a-
+purpose to haul some.  An' me hyar with nuthin' to cook supper with
+but sech chips an' blocks an' bresh ez I could pick up off'n the
+groun'."
+
+Birt's troubles had crowded out the recollection of this domestic
+duty.
+
+"I clean furgot," he admitted, penitently.  Then he asked suddenly,
+"An' whar war Rufe, an' Pete, an' Joe, ez YE hed ter go ter pickin'
+up of chips an' sech off'n the groun'?"
+
+He turned toward the group of small boys.  "Air you-uns all disabled
+somehows, ez ye can't pick up chips an' bresh an' sech?" he said.
+"An' ef ye air, whyn't ye go ter the tanyard arter me?"
+
+"They war all off in the woods, a-lookin' arter Rufe's trap ez ye
+sot fur squir'ls," Mrs. Dicey explained.  "It hed one in it, an' I
+cooked it fur supper."
+
+Birt said that he could go out early with his axe and cut enough
+wood for breakfast tomorrow, and then he fell silent.  Once or twice
+his preoccupied demeanor called forth comment.
+
+"Whyn't ye eat some o' the squir'l, Birt?" his mother asked at the
+supper table.  "Pears-like ter me ez it air cooked toler'ble tasty."
+
+Birt could not eat.  He soon rose from the table and resumed his
+chair by the window, and for half an hour no word passed between
+them.
+
+The thunder seemed to roll on the very roof of the cabin, and it
+trembled beneath the heavy fall of the rain.  At short intervals a
+terrible blue light quivered through crevices in the "daubin'"
+between the logs of the wall, and about the rude shutter which
+closed the glassless window.  Now and then a crash from the forest
+told of a riven tree.  But the storm had no terrors for the inmates
+of this humble dwelling.  Pete and Joe had already gone to bed;
+Tennessee had fallen asleep while playing on the floor, and Rufe
+dozed peacefully in his chair.  Even Mrs. Dicey nodded as she
+knitted, the needles sometimes dropping from her nerveless hand.
+
+Birt silently watched the group for a time in the red light of the
+smouldering fire and the blue flashes from without.  At length he
+softly rose and crept noiselessly to the door; the fastening was the
+primitive latch with a string attached; it opened without a sound in
+his cautious handling, and he found himself in the pitchy darkness
+outside, the wild mountain wind whirling about him, and the rain
+descending in steady torrents.
+
+He had stumbled only a few steps from the house when he thought he
+indistinctly heard the door open again.  He dreaded his mother's
+questions, but he stopped and looked back.
+
+He saw nothing.  There was no sound save the roar of the wind, the
+dash of the rain, and the commotion among the branches of the trees.
+
+He went on once more, absorbed in his dreary reflections and the
+fierce anger that burned in his heart.
+
+"I'll git even with Nate Griggs," he said, over and again.  "I'll
+git even with him yit."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+When Birt reached the fence, he discovered that the bars were down.
+Rufe had forgotten to replace them that afternoon when he drove in
+the cow to be milked.  Despite his absorption, Birt paused to put
+them up, remembering the vagrant mountain cattle that might stray in
+upon the corn.  He found the familiar little job difficult enough,
+for it seemed to him that there was never before so black a night.
+Even looking upward, he could not see the great wind-tossed boughs
+of the chestnut-oak above his head.  He only knew they were near,
+because acorns dropped upon the rail in his hands, and rebounded
+resonantly.  But an owl, blown helplessly down the gale, was not
+much better off, for all its vaunted nocturnal vision.  As it
+drifted by, on the currents of the wind, its noiseless, out-
+stretched wings, vainly flapping, struck Birt suddenly in the face,
+and frightened by the collision, it gave an odd, peevish squeak.
+
+Birt, too, was startled for a moment.  Then he exclaimed irritably,
+"Oh, g'way owEL"--realizing what had struck him.
+
+The next moment he paused abruptly.  He thought he heard, close at
+hand, amongst the glooms, a faint chuckle.  Something--was it?--
+SOMEBODY laughing in the darkness?
+
+He stood intently listening.  But now he heard only the down-pour of
+the rain, the sonorous gusts of the wind, the multitudinous voices
+of the muttering leaves.
+
+He said to himself that it was fancy.  "All this trouble ez I hev
+hed along o' Nate Griggs hev mighty nigh addled my brains."
+
+The name recalled his resolve.
+
+"I'll git even with him, though.  I'll git even with him yit," he
+reiterated as he plodded on heavily down the path, his mind once
+more busy with all the details of his discovery, his misplaced
+confidence, and the wreck of his hopes.
+
+It seemed so hard that he should never before have heard of
+"entering land," and of that law of the State according priority to
+the finder of mineral.  The mine was his, but he had hid the
+discovery from all but Nate, who claimed it himself, and had secured
+the legal title.
+
+"But I'll git even with him," he said resolutely between his set
+teeth.
+
+He had thought it a lucky chance to remember, in his reverie before
+the fire-lit hearth, that peg in the shed at the tanyard on which
+Tim had hung his brother's coat.  Somehow the episode of the
+afternoon had left so vivid an impression on Birt's mind that hours
+afterward he seemed to see the dull, clouded sky, the sombre,
+encircling woods, the brown stretch of spent tan, the little gray
+shed, and within it, hanging upon a peg, the butternut jeans coat, a
+stiff white paper protruding from its pocket.
+
+That grant, he thought, had taken from him his rights.  He would
+destroy it--he would tear it into bits, and cast it to the turbulent
+mountain winds.  It was not his, to be sure.  But was it justly
+Nate's?--he had no right to enter the land down the ravine.
+
+And so Birt argued with his conscience.
+
+Now wherever Conscience calls a halt, it is no place for Reason to
+debate the question.  The way ahead is no thoroughfare.
+
+Birt did not recognize the tearing of the paper as stealing, but he
+knew that all this was morally wrong, although he would not admit
+it.  He would not forego his revenge--it was too dear; he was too
+deeply injured.  In the anger that possessed his every faculty, he
+did not appreciate its futility.
+
+There were other facts which he did NOT know.  He was ignorant that
+the deed which he contemplated was a crime in the estimation of the
+law, a penitentiary offense.
+
+And toward this terrible pitfall he trudged in the darkness, saying
+over and again to himself, "I'll git even with Nate Griggs; he'll
+hev no grant, no land, no gold--no more 'n me.  I'll git even with
+him."
+
+His progress seemed incredibly slow as he groped along the path.
+But the rain soon ceased; the wind began to scatter the clouds;
+through a rift he saw a great, glittering planet blazing high above
+their dark turmoils.
+
+How the drops pattered down as the wind tossed the laurel!--once
+they sounded like footfalls close behind him.  He turned and looked
+back into the obscurities of the forest.  Nothing--a frog had begun
+to croak far away, and the vibrations of the katydid were strident
+on the damp air.
+
+And here was the tanyard, a denser area of gloom marking where the
+house and shed stood in the darkness.  He did not hesitate.  He
+stepped over the bars, which lay as usual on the ground, and walked
+across the yard to the shed.  The eaves were dripping with moisture.
+But the coat, still hanging within on the peg, was dry.
+
+He had a thrill of repulsion when he touched it.  His hand fell.
+
+"But look how Nate hev treated me," he remonstrated with his
+conscience.
+
+The next moment he had drawn the grant half-way out of the pocket,
+and as he moved he almost stepped upon something close behind him.
+All at once he knew what it was, even before a flash of the distant
+lightning revealed a little tow-head down in the darkness, and a
+pair of black eyes raised to his in perfect confidence.
+
+It was the little sister who had followed him to-night, as she
+always did when she could.
+
+"Stand back thar, Tennessee!" he faltered.
+
+He was trembling from head to foot.  And yet Tennessee was far too
+young to tell that she had seen the grant in his hands, to
+understand, even to question.  But had he been seized by the whole
+Griggs tribe, he could not have been so panic-stricken as he was by
+the sight of that unknowing little head, the touch of the chubby
+little hand on his knee.
+
+He thrust the grant back into the pocket of Nate's coat.  His
+resolve was routed by the presence of love and innocence.  Not here-
+-not now could he be vindictive, malicious.  With some urgent,
+inborn impulse strongly constraining him, he caught the little
+sister in his arms, and fled headlong through the darkness,
+homeward.
+
+As he went he was amazed that he should have contemplated this
+revenge.
+
+"Why, I can't afford ter be a scoundrel an' sech, jes' 'kase Nate
+Griggs air a tricky feller an' hev fooled me.  Ef Tennessee hedn't
+stepped up so powerful peart I moughtn't hev come ter my senses in
+time.  I mought hev tore up Nate's grant by now.  But arter this I
+ain't never goin' ter set out ter act like a scamp jes' 'kase
+somebody else does."
+
+His conscience had prevailed, his better self returned.  And when he
+reached home, and opening the door saw his mother still nodding over
+her knitting, and Rufe asleep in his chair, and the fire smouldering
+on the hearth, all as he had left it, he might have thought that he
+had dreamed the temptation and his rescue, but for his dripping
+garments and Tennessee in his arms all soaking with the rain.
+
+The noise of his entrance roused his mother, who stared in drowsy
+astonishment at the bedraggled apparition on the threshold.
+
+"Tennie follered me ter the tanyard 'fore I fund her out," Birt
+explained.  "It 'pears ter hev rained on her, considerable," he
+added deprecatingly.
+
+Tennie was looking eagerly over her shoulder to note the effect of
+this statement.  Her streaming hair flirted drops of water on the
+floor; her cheeks were ruddy; her black eyes brightened with
+apprehension.
+
+"Waal, sir! that thar child beats all.  Never mind, Tennie, ye'll
+meet up with a wild varmint some day when ye air follerin' Birt off
+from the house, an' I ain't surprised none ef it eats ye!  But
+shucks!" Mrs. Dicey continued impersonally, "I mought ez well save
+my breath; Tennie ain't feared o' nuthin', ef Birt air by."
+
+The word "varmint" seemed to recall something to Tennessee.  She
+began to chatter unintelligibly about an "owEL," and to chuckle so,
+that Birt had sudden light upon that mysterious laugh which he had
+heard behind him at the bars.
+
+In his pride in Tennessee he related how the owl had startled him,
+and the little girl, invisible in the darkness, had laughed.
+
+"Tennessee ain't pretty, I know, but she air powerful peart," he
+said, affectionately, as he placed her upon her feet on the floor.
+
+Birt was out early with his axe the next day.  The air was
+delightfully pure after the rain-storm; the sky, gradually becoming
+visible, wore the ideal azure; the freshened foliage seemed tinted
+anew.  And the morning was pierced by the gilded, glittering
+javelins of the sunrise, flung from over the misty eastern
+mountains.  As the day dawned all sylvan fascinations were alert in
+the woods.  The fragrant winds were garrulous with wild legends of
+piney gorges; of tumultuous cascades fringed by thyme and mint and
+ferns.  Every humble weed lent odorous suggestions.  The airy things
+all took to wing.  And the spider was a-weaving.
+
+Birt had felled a slender young ash, and was cutting it into lengths
+for the fireplace, when he noticed a squirrel, sleek woodland dandy,
+frisking about a rotten log at some little distance, by the
+roadside.
+
+Suddenly the squirrel paused, then nimbly sped away.  There was the
+sound of approaching hoofs along the road, and presently from around
+the curve a woman appeared mounted on a sorrel mare, and with a
+long-legged colt ambling in the rear.
+
+It was Mrs. Griggs, setting out on a journey of some ten miles to
+visit her married daughter who lived on a neighboring spur.  She had
+taken an early start to "git rid o' the heat o' the noon," as she
+explained to Mrs. Dicey, who had run out to the rail fence when she
+reined up beside it.  Birt dropped his axe and joined them,
+expecting to hear more about Nate's grant and the gold mine.  Rufe
+and Tennessee added their company without any definite intention.
+Pete and Joe were hurrying out of the house toward the group.  All
+the dogs congregated, some of them climbing over the fence to
+investigate the colt, which was skittish under the ordeal.  Even the
+turkey-gobbler, strutting on the outskirts of the assemblage, had an
+attentive aspect, as if he, too, relished the gossip.
+
+Mrs. Griggs's pink calico sunbonnet surmounted the cap with the
+explanatory ruffle.  She carried a fan of turkey feathers, and with
+appropriate gesticulation, it aided in expounding to Mrs. Dicey the
+astonishing news that Nate had found a gold mine on vacant land, and
+had entered the tract.  They intended to send specimens to the State
+Assayer, and they were all getting ready to begin work at once.
+
+Another surprise to Birt!  The ignorant mountain boy had never heard
+of the Assayer.  But indeed Nate had only learned of the existence
+of the office and its uses during that memorable trip to Sparta.
+
+The prideful Mrs. Griggs from her elevation, literal and
+metaphorical, supplemented all this by the creditable statements
+that Nate had turned twenty-one, had cast his vote, and had a right
+to a choice at the Cross-roads.
+
+Then she chirruped to the rawboned sorrel mare, and jogged off down
+the road, followed by the frisky colt, whose long, slender legs when
+in motion seemed so fragile that it was startling to witness the
+temerity with which he kicked up his frolicsome heels.  The dogs,
+with that odd canine affectation of having just perceived the
+intruders, pursued them with sudden asperity, barking and snapping,
+and at last came trotting nimbly home, wagging their tails and with
+a dutiful mien.
+
+Mrs. Dicey went back into the house, and sat for a time in envious
+meditation, fairly silenced, and with her apron flung over her face.
+Then she fell to lamenting that she had been working all her life
+for nothing, and it would take so little to make the family
+comfortable, and that her children seemed "disabled somehow in thar
+heads, an' though always rootin' around in the woods, hed never fund
+no gold mine nor nuthin' else out o' the common."
+
+Birt kept silent, but the gloom and trouble in his face suddenly
+touched her heart.
+
+"Thar now, Birt!" she exclaimed, with a world of consolation in her
+tones, "I don't mean ter say that, nuther.  Ain't I a-thinkin' day
+an' night o' how smart ye be--stiddy an' sensible an' hard-workin'
+jes' like a man--an' what a good son ye hev been to me!  An' the
+t'other chill'n air good too, an' holps me powerful, though Rufe air
+hendered some, by the comical natur o' the critter."
+
+She broke out with a cheerful laugh, in which Birt could not join.
+
+"An' I mus' be gittin' breakfus fur the chill'n," she said, kneeling
+down on the hearth, and uncovering the embers which had been kept
+all night under the ashes.
+
+"Don't ye fret, sonny.  I ain't goin' ter grudge Nate his gold mine.
+I reckon sech a good son ez ye be, an' a gold mine too, would be too
+much luck fur one woman.  Don't ye fret, sonny."
+
+Birt's self-control gave way abruptly.  He rose in great agitation,
+and started toward the door.  Then he paused, and broke forth with
+passionate incoherence, telling amidst sobs and tears the story of
+the woodland's munificence to him, and how he had flung the gift
+away.
+
+In recounting the hopes that had deluded him, the fears that had
+gnawed, and the despair in which they were at last merged, he did
+not notice, for a time, her look as she still knelt motionless
+before the embers on the hearth.
+
+He faltered, and grew silent; then stared dumbly at her.
+
+She seemed as one petrified.  Her face had blanched; its lines were
+as sharp and distinct as if graven in stone; only her eyes spoke, an
+eloquent anguish.  Her faculties were numbed for a moment.  But
+presently there was a quiver in her chin, and her voice rang out.
+
+And yet did she understand? did she realize the loss of the mine?
+For it was not this that she lamented
+
+"Birt Dicey!" she cried in an appalled tone.  "Did ye hide it from
+yer MOTHER--an' tell NATE GRIGGS?"
+
+Birt hung his head.  The folly of it!
+
+"What ailed ye, ter hide it from me?" she asked deprecatingly,
+holding out her worn, hard-working hands.  "Hev I ever done ye
+harm?"
+
+"Nuthin' but good."
+
+"Don't everybody know a boy's mother air bound ter take his part
+agin all the worl'?"
+
+"Everybody but me," said the penitent Birt.
+
+"What ailed ye, ter hide it from me?  What did ye 'low I'd do?"
+
+"I 'lowed ye wouldn't want me ter go pardners with Nate," he said
+drearily.
+
+"I reckon I wouldn't!" she admitted.
+
+"Ye always said he war a snake in the grass."
+
+"He hev proved that air a true word."
+
+"I wisht I hedn't tole him!" cried Birt vainly.  "I wisht I hedn't."
+
+He watched her with moody eyes as she rose at last with a sigh and
+went mechanically about her preparations for breakfast.
+
+There was a division between them.  He felt the gulf widening.
+
+"I jes' wanted it fur you-uns, ennyhow," he said, defending his
+motives.  "I 'lowed ez I mought make enough out'n it ter buy a
+horse."
+
+"I hain't got time ter sorrow 'bout'n no gold mine," she said
+loftily.  "I used ter believe ye set a heap o' store by yer mother,
+an' war willin' ter trust her--ye an' me hevin' been through mighty
+hard times together.  But ye don't--I reckon ye never did.  I hev
+los' mo' than enny gold mine."
+
+And this sorrow for a vanished faith resolved itself into tears with
+which she salted her humble bread.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+If she had had any relish for triumph, she might have found it in
+Birt's astonishment to learn that she understood all the details of
+entering land, which had been such a mystery to him.
+
+"'Twar the commonest thing in the worl', whenst I war young, ter
+hear 'bout'n folks enterin' land," she said.  "But nowadays thar
+ain't no talk 'bout'n it sca'cely, 'kase the best an' most o' the
+land in the State hev all been tuk up an' entered--'ceptin' mebbe a
+trac', hyar an' thar, full o' rock, an' so steep 't ain't wuth
+payin' the taxes on."
+
+Simple as she was, she could have given him valuable counsel when it
+was sorely needed.  He hung about the house later than was his wont,
+bringing in the store of wood for her work during the day, and
+"packing" the water from the spring, with the impulse in his
+attention to these little duties to make what amends he might.
+
+When at last he started for the tanyard, he knew by the sun that he
+was long over-due.  He walked briskly along the path through the
+sassafras and sumach bushes, on which the rain-drops still clung.
+He was presently brushing them off in showers, for he had begun to
+run.  It occurred to him that this was no time to seem even a trifle
+remiss in his work at the tanyard.  Since he had lost all his hopes
+down the ravine, the continuance of Jube Perkins's favor and the
+dreary routine with the mule and the bark-mill were his best
+prospects.  It would never do to offend the tanner now.
+
+"With sech a pack o' chill'n ter vittle ez we-uns hev got at our
+house," he muttered.
+
+As he came crashing through the underbrush into view of the tanyard,
+he noticed instantly that it did not wear its usual simple,
+industrial aspect.  A group of excited men were standing in front of
+the shed, one of them gesticulating wildly.
+
+And running toward the bars came Tim Griggs, panting and white-
+faced, and exclaiming incoherently at the sight of Birt.
+
+"Oh, Birt," he cried, "I war jes' startin' to yer house arter you-
+uns; they tole me to go an' fetch ye.  Fur massy's sake, gimme
+Nate's grant.  I'm fairly afeared o' him.  He'll break every bone I
+own."  He held out his hand.  "Gimme the grant!"
+
+"Nate's grant!" exclaimed Birt aghast.  "I hain't got it!  I hain't"
+-
+
+He paused abruptly.  He could not say that he had not touched it.
+
+Tim's wits were sharpened by the keen anxiety of the crisis.  He
+noticed the hesitation.  "Ye hev hed it," he cried wildly.  "Ye know
+ye hev been foolin' with it.  Ye know 'twar you-uns!"
+
+He changed to sudden appeal.  "Don't put the blame off on me, Birt,"
+he pleaded.  "I'm fairly afeared o' Nate."
+
+"Ain't the grant in the pocket o' his coat--whar ye left it hangin'
+on a peg in the shed?" asked Birt, dismayed.
+
+"Naw--naw!" exclaimed Tim, despairingly.  "He missed his coat this
+mornin', bein' the weather war cooler, an' then the grant, an' he
+sent me arter it.  An' I fund the coat a-hangin' thar on the peg,
+whar I hed lef' it, bein' ez I furgot it when I went off with Rufe
+ter look at his chickens, an' the pocket war empty an' the paper
+gone!  Nate hev kem ter sarch, too!"
+
+Once more he held out his hand.  "Gimme the grant.  Nate 'lows 'twar
+you-uns ez tuk it, bein' ez I lef' it hyar."
+
+Birt flushed angrily.  "I'll say a word ter Nate Griggs!" he
+declared.
+
+And he pushed past the trembling Tim, and took his way briskly into
+the tanyard.
+
+There was a vague murmur in the group as he approached, and Nate
+Griggs came out from its midst, nodding his head threateningly.  His
+hat, thrust far back on his sandy hair, left in bold relief his
+long, thin face with its small eyes, which seemed now so close
+together that his glance had the effect of a squint.  He scanned
+Birt narrowly.
+
+This was the first time the two had met since Birt's ill-starred
+confidence there by the bark-mill.
+
+"What ails ye, ter 'low ez it air ME ez hev got yer grant, Nate
+Griggs?" Birt asked, steadily meeting the accusation.
+
+The excitement had impaired for the moment Nate Griggs's cunning.
+
+"'Kase," he blurted out, "ye hev been a-tryin' ter purtend ez ye
+fund the mine fust, an' hev been a-tellin' folks 'bout'n it."
+
+"Prove it," said Birt, in sudden elation.  "Who war it I tole, an'
+when?"
+
+The sly Nathan caught his breath with a gasp.  His craft had
+returned.
+
+Admit that to HIM Birt had divulged the discovery of the mine!
+Confess, when!  This would invalidate the entry!
+
+"Ye tole TIM," Nate said shamelessly, "an' ez ter when--'twar
+yestiddy evenin' at the tanyard.  Didn't he, Tim?"  And he whirled
+around to his younger brother for confirmation of this audacious and
+deliberate falsehood.
+
+The abject Tim--poor tool!--frightened and cowering, nodded to admit
+it.  "Gimme the grant, Birt," he faltered, helplessly.  "I oughtn't
+ter hev furgot it."
+
+"Look-a-hyar, Birt," said the tanner with a solemnity which the boy
+did not altogether understand, "gin Nate the grant."
+
+"I hain't got it," replied Birt, badgered and growing nervous.
+
+"Tell him, then, ye never teched it."
+
+Birt's impulse was to adopt the word.  But he had seen enough of
+falsehood.  He had done with concealment.
+
+"I did tech it," he said boldly, "but I hain't got it.  I put it
+back in the pocket o' the coat."
+
+Jube Perkins laid a sudden hand upon his collar.  "'Tain't no use
+denyin' it, Birt," he said with the sharp cadence of dismay.  "Gin
+the grant back ter Nate, an' mebbe he won't go no furder 'bout'n it.
+Stealin' a paper like that air a pen'tiary crime!"
+
+Birt reeled under the word.  He thought of his mother, the children.
+He had a bitter foretaste of the suspense, the fear, the
+humiliation.  And he was helpless.  For no one would believe him!
+His head was in a whirl.  He could not stand.  He sank down upon the
+wood-pile, vaguely hearing a word here and there of what was said in
+the crowd.
+
+"His mother air a widder-woman," remarked one of the group.  "An'
+she air mighty poor."
+
+Andy Byers was laughing cynically.
+
+Absorbed though he was, Birt experienced a subacute wonder that any
+one could feel so bitterly toward him as to laugh at a moment like
+this.  How had he made Andy Byers his enemy!
+
+Nobody noticed it, for Nate was swaggering about in the crowd,
+enjoying this conspicuous opportunity to display all the
+sophistications he had acquired in his recent trip to Sparta.  He
+was calling upon them to witness that he did not care for the loss
+of the grant--the PAPER was nothing to him!--for it was on record in
+the land office, and he could get a certified copy from the register
+in no time at all.  But his rights were his RIGHTS!--and ten
+thousand Diceys should not trample on them.  Birt had doubtless
+thought, being ignorant, that he could destroy the title by making
+away with the paper; and if there was law in the State, he should
+suffer for it.
+
+And after this elaborate rodomontade, Nate strode out of the
+tanyard, with the obsequious Tim following humbly.
+
+Birt told his story again and again, to satisfy curious questioners
+during the days that ensued.  And when he had finished they would
+look significantly at one another, and chuckle incredulously.
+
+The tanner seemed to earnestly wish to befriend him, and urged him
+to confess.  "The truth's the only thing ez kin save ye, Birt."
+
+"I'm tellin' the truth," poor Birt would declare.
+
+Then Jube Perkins argued the question:  "How kin ye expec' ennybody
+ter b'lieve ye when ye say Tennessee purvented ye from takin' the
+grant--ennything the size o' leetle Tennie, thar."
+
+And he pointed at the little sister, who was perched upon the wood-
+pile munching an Indian peach.
+
+Somehow Birt did not accurately define the moral force which she had
+wielded, for he was untaught, and clumsy of speech, and could not
+translate his feelings.  And Jube Perkins was hardly fitted to
+understand that subtle coercion of affection.
+
+When he found that Birt would only reiterate that Tennie "kem along
+unbeknown an' purvented" him, Jube Perkins gave up the effort at
+last, convinced of his guilt.
+
+And Andy Byers said that he was not surprised, for he had known for
+some little time that Birt was a "most MISCHIEVIOUS scamp."
+
+Only his mother believed in him, requiting his lack of confidence in
+her with a fervor of faith in him that, while it consoled,
+nevertheless cut him to the heart.  It has been many years since
+then, for all this happened along in the fifties, but Birt has never
+forgotten how staunchly she upheld him in every thought when all the
+circumstances belied him.  Now that misfortune had touched him,
+every trace of her caustic moods had disappeared; she was all
+gentleness and tenderness toward him.  And day by day as he went to
+his work, meeting everywhere a short word, or a slighting look, he
+felt that he could not have borne up, save for the knowledge of that
+loyal heart at home.
+
+He was momently in terror of arrest, and he often pondered on Nate's
+uncharacteristic forbearance.  Perhaps Nate was afraid that Birt's
+story, told from the beginning in court, might constrain belief and
+affect the validity of the entry.
+
+Birt vainly speculated, too, upon the strange disappearance of the
+grant.  There it was in the pocket of the coat late that night, and
+the next morning early--gone!
+
+Sometimes he suspected that Nate had only made a pretense of losing
+the grant, in order to accuse him and prejudice public opinion
+against him, so that he might not be believed should he claim the
+discovery of the mineral down the ravine.
+
+His mother sought to keep him from dwelling upon his troubles.  "We
+won't cross the bredge till we git thar," she said.  "Mebbe thar
+ain't none ahead."  But her fears for his sake tortured her silent
+hours when he was away.  When he came back from his work, there
+always awaited him a bright fire, a good supper, and cheerful words
+as well, although these were the most difficult to prepare.  The
+dogs bounded about him, Tennessee clung to his hand, the boys were
+hilarious and loud.
+
+By reason of their mother's silence on the subject, that Birt might
+be better able to go, and work, and hold up his head among the men
+who suspected him, the children for a time knew nothing of what had
+happened.
+
+Now Rufe, although his faults were many and conspicuous, was not
+lacking in natural affection.  Had he understood that a cloud
+overhung Birt, he could not have been so merry, so facetious, so
+queerly and quaintly bad as he was on his visits to the tanyard,
+which were peculiarly frequent just now.  If Birt had had the heart
+for it, he might have enjoyed some of Rufe's pranks at the expense
+of Andy Byers.  The man had once found a sort of entertainment in
+making fun of Rufe, and this had encouraged the small boy to
+retaliate as best he could.
+
+At this time, however, Byers suddenly became the gravest of men.  He
+took little notice of the wiles of his elfish antagonist, and
+whenever he fell into a snare devised by Rufe, he was irritable for
+a moment, and had forgotten it the next.  He had never a word or
+glance for Birt, who marveled at his conduct.  He seemed perpetually
+brooding upon some perplexity.  Occasionally in the midst of his
+work he would stand motionless for five minutes, the two-handled
+knife poised in his grasp, his eyes fixed upon the ground, his
+shaggy brows heavily knitted, his expression doubting, anxious.
+
+The tanner commented upon this inactivity, one day.  "Hev ye tuk
+root thar, Andy?" he asked.
+
+Byers roused himself with a start.  "Naw," he replied reflectively,
+"but I hev been troubled in my mind some, lately, an' I gits ter
+studyin' powerful wunst in a while."
+
+As he bent to his work, scraping the two-handled knife up and down
+the hide stretched over the wooden horse, he added, "I hev got so ez
+I can't relish my vittles sca'cely, bein' so tormented in my mind,
+an' my sleep air plumb broke up; 'pears like ter me ez I hev got a
+reg'lar gift fur the nightmare."
+
+"Been skeered by old Mis' Price's harnt lately?" Rufe asked suddenly
+from his perch upon the wood-pile.
+
+Byers whirled round abruptly, fixing an astonished gaze upon Rufe,
+unmindful that the knife slipped from his grasp, and fell clanking
+upon the ground.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+This grave, eager gaze Rufe returned with the gayest audacity.
+
+"Been skeered by old Mis' Price's harnt lately?" he once more
+chirped out gleefully.
+
+He was comical enough, as he sat on the top of the wood-pile,
+hugging his knees with both arms, his old, bent, wool hat perched on
+the back of his tow head, and all his jagged squirrel teeth showing
+themselves, unabashed, in a wide grin.
+
+Jubal Perkins laughed lazily, as he looked at him.
+
+Then, with that indulgence which Rufe always met at the tanyard, and
+which served to make him so pert and forward, the tanner said,
+humoring the privileged character, "What be you-uns a-talkin' 'bout,
+boy?  Mrs. Price ain't dead."
+
+"HE hev viewed old Mis' Price's harnt," cried Rufe, pointing at Andy
+Byers, with a jocosely crooked finger.  "HE air so peart an'
+forehanded a-viewin' harnts, he don't hev to wait till folkses be
+dead.  HE hev seen Mis' Price's harnt--an' it plumb skeered the wits
+out'n him."
+
+Perkins did not understand this.  His interest was suddenly alert.
+He took his pipe from his mouth, and glanced over his shoulder at
+Byers.  "What air Rufe aimin' at, Andy?" he asked, surprised.
+
+Byers did not reply.  He still gazed steadfastly at Rufe; the knife
+lay unheeded on the ground at his feet, and the hide was slipping
+from the wooden horse.
+
+At last he said slowly, "Birt tole ye 'bout'n it, eh?"
+
+"Naw, sir!  Naw!"  Rufe rocked himself fantastically to and fro in
+imminent peril of toppling off the wood-pile.  "'Twar Tom Byers ez
+tole me."
+
+"TOM!" exclaimed Byers, with a galvanic start.
+
+For Tom was his son, and he had not suspected filial treachery in
+the matter of the spectral blackberry bush.
+
+Rufe stared in his turn, not comprehending Byers's surprise.
+
+"TOM," he reiterated presently, with mocking explicitness.  "Tom
+Byers--I reckon ye knows him.  That thar freckled-faced, snaggled-
+toothed, red-headed Tom Byers, ez lives at yer house.  I reckon ye
+MUS' know him."
+
+"Tom tole ye--WHAT?" asked the tanner, puzzled by Byers's grave,
+anxious face, and Rufe's mysterious sneers.
+
+Rufe broke into the liveliest cackle.  "Tom, he 'lowed ter me ez he
+war tucked up in the trundle-bed, fast asleep, that night when his
+dad got home from old Mis' Price's house, whar he had been ter hear
+her las' words.  Tom, he 'lowed he war dreamin' ez his gran'dad hed
+gin him a calf--Tom say the calf war spotted red an' white--an' jes'
+ez he war a-leadin' it home with him, his dad kem racin' inter the
+house with sech a rumpus ez woke him up, an' he never got the calf
+along no furder than the turn in the road.  An' thar sot his dad in
+the cheer, declarin' fur true ez he hed seen old Mis' Price's harnt
+in the woods, an' b'lieved she mus' be dead afore now.  An' though
+thar war a right smart fire on the h'a'th, he war shiverin' an'
+shakin' over it, jes' the same ez ef he war out at the wood-pile,
+pickin' up chips on a frosty mornin'."
+
+And Rufe crouched over, shivering in every limb, in equally
+excellent mimicry of a ghost-seer, or an unwilling chip-picker under
+stress of weather.
+
+"My!" he exclaimed with a fresh burst of laughter; "whenst Tom tole
+me 'bout'n it I war so tickled I war feared I'd fall.  I los' the
+use o' my tongue.  I couldn't stop laffin' long enough ter tell Tom
+what I war laffin' at.  An' ez Tom knowed I war snake-bit las' June,
+he went home an' tole his mother ez the p'ison hed done teched me in
+the head, an' said he reckoned, ef the truth war knowed, I hed fits
+ez a constancy.  I say--FITS!"
+
+Once more the bewildered tanner glanced from one to the other.
+
+"Why, ye never tole me ez ye hed seen su'thin' strange in the woods,
+Andy," he exclaimed, feeling aggrieved, thus balked of a sensation.
+"An' the old woman ain't dead, nohow," he continued reasonably, "but
+air strengthenin' up amazin' fast."
+
+"Waal," put in Rufe, hastening to explain this discrepancy in the
+spectre, "I hearn you-uns a-sayin' that mornin', fore ye set out
+from the tanyard, ez she war mighty nigh dead an' would be gone
+'fore night.  An' ez he hed tole me he'd skeer the wits out'n me, I
+'lowed ez I could show him ez his wits warn't ez tough ez mine.
+Though," added the roguish Rufe, with a grin of enjoyment, "arter I
+hed dressed up the blackberry bush in mam's apron an' shawl, an' sot
+her bonnet a-top, it tuk ter noddin' and bowin' with the wind, an'
+looked so like folks, ez it gin ME a skeer, an' I jes' run home ez
+hard ez I could travel.  An Towse, he barked at it!"
+
+Andy Byers spoke suddenly.  "Waal, Birt holped ye, then."
+
+"He never!" cried Rufe, emphatically, unwilling to share the credit,
+or perhaps discredit, of the enterprise.  "Birt dunno nuthin' 'bout
+it ter this good day."  Rufe winked slyly.  "Birt would tell mam ez
+I hed been a-foolin' with her shawl an' bonnet."
+
+Andy Byers still maintained a most incongruous gravity.
+
+"It warn't Birt's doin', at all?" he said interrogatively, and with
+a pondering aspect.
+
+Jubal Perkins broke into a derisive guffaw.  "What ails ye, Andy?"
+he cried.  "Though ye never seen no harnt, ye 'pear ter be fairly
+witched by that thar tricked-out blackberry bush."
+
+Rufe shrugged up his shoulders, and began to shiver in imaginary
+terror over a fancied fire.
+
+"Old--Mis'--Price's--harnt!" he wheezed.
+
+The point of view makes an essential difference.  Jube Perkins
+thought Rufe's comicality most praiseworthy--his pipe went out while
+he laughed.  Byers flushed indignantly.
+
+"Ye aggervatin' leetle varmint!" he cried suddenly, his patience
+giving way.
+
+He seized the crouching mimic by the collar, and although he did not
+literally knock him off the wood-pile, as Rufe afterward declared,
+he assisted the small boy through the air with a celerity that
+caused Rufe to wink very fast and catch his breath, when he was
+deposited, with a shake, on the soft pile of ground bark some yards
+away.
+
+Rufe was altogether unhurt, but a trifle subdued by this sudden
+aerial excursion.  The fun was over for the present.  He gathered
+himself together, and went demurely and sat down on the lowest log
+of the wood-pile.  After a little he produced a papaw from his
+pocket, and by the manner in which they went to work upon it, his
+jagged squirrel teeth showed that they were better than they looked.
+
+Towse had followed his master to the tanyard, and was lying asleep
+beside the woodpile, with his muzzle on his forepaws.
+
+He roused himself suddenly at the sound of munching, and came and
+sat upright, facing Rufe, and eyeing the papaw gloatingly.  He
+wagged his tail in a beguiling fashion, and now and then turned his
+head blandishingly askew.
+
+Of course he would not have relished the papaw, and only begged as a
+matter of habit or perhaps on principle; but he was given no
+opportunity to sample it, for Rufe hardly noticed him, being
+absorbed in dubiously watching Andy Byers, who was once more at
+work, scraping the hide with the two-handled knife.
+
+Jubal Perkins had gone into the house for a coal to re-kindle his
+pipe, for there is always a smouldering fire in the "smoke-room" for
+the purpose of drying the hides suspended from the rafters.  He came
+out with it freshly glowing, and sat down on the broad, high pile of
+wood.
+
+As the first whiff of smoke wreathed over his head, he said, "What
+air the differ ter ye, Andy, whether 't war bub, hyar, or Birt, ez
+dressed up the blackberry bush? ye 'pear ter make a differ a-twixt
+'em."
+
+Still Byers was evasive.  "Whar's Birt, ennyhow?" he demanded
+irrelevantly.
+
+"Waal," drawled the tanner, with a certain constraint, "I hed been
+promisin' Birt a day off fur a right smart while, an' I tole him ez
+he mought ez well hev the rest o' ter-day.  He 'lowed ez he warn't
+partic'lar 'bout a day off, now.  But I tole him ennyhow ter go
+along.  I seen him a while ago passin' through the woods, with his
+rifle on his shoulder--gone huntin', I reckon."
+
+"GONE HUNTIN'!" ejaculated Rufe in dudgeon, joining unceremoniously
+in the conversation of his elders.  "Now, Birt mought hev let me
+know!  I'd hev wanted ter go along too."
+
+"Mebbe that air the reason he never tole ye, bub," said Perkins
+dryly.
+
+For he could appreciate that Rufe's society was not always a boon,
+although he took a lenient view of the little boy.  Any indulgence
+of Birt was more unusual, and Andy Byers experienced some surprise
+to hear of the unwonted sylvan recreations of the young drudge.  He
+noticed that the mule was off duty too, grazing among the bushes
+just beyond the fence, and hobbled so that he could not run away.
+This precaution might have seemed a practical joke on the mule, for
+the poor old animal was only too glad to stand stock still.
+
+Rufe continued his exclamatory indignation.
+
+"Jes' ter go lopin' off inter the woods huntin', 'thout lettin' ME
+know!  An' I never gits ter go huntin' nohow!  An' mam won't let me
+tech Birt's rifle, 'thout it air ez empty ez a gourd!  She say she
+air feared I'll shoot my head off, an' she don't want no boys,
+'thout heads, jouncin' round her house--shucks!  Which way did Birt
+take, Mister Perkins?--'kase I be goin' ter ketch up."
+
+"He war headed fur that thar salt lick, whenst I las' seen him,"
+replied the tanner; "ef ye stir yer stumps right lively, mebbe ye'll
+overhaul him yit."
+
+Rufe rose precipitately.  Towse, believing his petition for the
+papaw was about to be rewarded, leaped up too, gamboling with a
+display of ecstasy that might have befitted a starving creature, and
+an elasticity to be expected only of a rubber dog.  As he uttered a
+shrill yelp of delight, he sprang up against Rufe, who, reeling
+under the shock, dropped the remnant of the papaw.  Towse darted
+upon it, sniffed disdainfully, and returned to his capers around
+Rufe, evidently declining to believe that all that show of gustatory
+satisfaction had been elicited only by the papaw, and that Rufe had
+nothing else to eat.
+
+Thus the two took their way out of the tanyard; and even after they
+had disappeared, their progress through the underbrush was marked by
+an abnormal commotion among the leaves, as the saltatory skeptic of
+a dog insisted on more substantial favors than the succulent papaw.
+
+The tanner smoked for a time in silence.
+
+Then, "Birt ain't goin' ter be let ter work hyar ag'in," he said.
+
+Byers elevated his shaggy eyebrows in surprise.
+
+"Ye see," said the tanner in a confidential undertone, "sence Birt
+hev stole that thar grant, I kin argufy ez he mought steal su'thin'
+else, an' I ain't ekal ter keepin' up a spry lookout on things, an'
+bein' partic'lar 'bout the count o' the hides an' sech.  I can't
+feel easy with sech a mischeevious scamp around."
+
+Byers made no rejoinder, and the tanner, puffing his pipe, vaguely
+watched the wreaths of smoke rise above his head, and whisk
+buoyantly about in the air, and finally skurry off into
+invisibility.  A gentle breeze was astir in the woods, and it set
+the leaves to whispering.  The treetoads and the locusts were
+trolling a chorus.  So loudly vibrant, it was!  So clamorously gay!
+Some subtle intimation they surely had that summer was ephemeral and
+the season waning, for the burden of their song was, Let us now be
+merry.  The scarlet head of a woodpecker showed brilliantly from the
+bare dead boughs of a chestnut-oak, which, with its clinging lichens
+of green and gray, was boldly projected against the azure sky.  And
+there, the filmy moon, most dimly visible in the afternoon sunshine,
+swung like some lunar hallucination among the cirrus clouds.
+
+"Ye 'lows ez I ain't doin' right by Birt?" the tanner suggested
+presently, with more conscience in the matter than one would have
+given him credit for possessing.
+
+"I knows ye air doin' right," said Byers unexpectedly.
+
+All at once the woodpecker was solemnly tapping--tapping.
+
+Byers glanced up, as if to discern whence the sudden sound came, and
+once more bent to his work.
+
+"Ye b'lieves, then, ez he stole that thar grant from Nate Griggs?"
+asked Perkins.
+
+"I be SURE he done it," said Byers, unequivocally.
+
+The tanner took his pipe from his lips.  "What ails ye ter say that,
+Andy?" he exclaimed excitedly.
+
+Andy Byers hesitated.  He mechanically passed his fingers once or
+twice across the blunt, curved blade of the two-handled knife.
+
+"Ye'll keep the secret?"
+
+"In the sole o' my boot," said the tanner.
+
+"Waal, I KNOWS ez Birt stole the grant.  I hev been powerful
+changeful, though, in my thoughts bout'n it.  At fust I war glad
+when he war suspicioned 'bout'n it, an' I war minded to go an'
+inform on him an' sech, ter pay him back; 'kase I held a grudge
+ag'in him, believin' ez he hed dressed out that thar blackberry bush
+ez Mrs. Price's harnt.  An' then I'd remember ez his mother war a
+widder-woman, an' he war nothin' but a boy, an' boys air bound ter
+be gamesome an' full o' jokes wunst in a while, an' I'd feel like I
+war bound ter furgive him 'bout the harnt.  An' then ag'in I got
+toler'ble oneasy fur fear the Law mought hold ME 'sponsible fur
+knowin' 'bout Birt's crime of stealin' the grant an' yit not tellin'
+on him.  An' I'd take ter hopin' an' prayin' the boy would confess,
+so ez I wouldn't hev ter tell on him.  I hev been mightily pestered
+in my mind lately with sech dilly-dallyin'."
+
+Again the sudden tapping of the woodpecker filled the pause.
+
+"Did ye SEE him steal the grant, Andy?" asked the tanner, with bated
+breath.
+
+"Ez good ez seen him.  I seen him slyin' round, an' I HEV FUND THE
+PLACE WHAR HE HEV HID IT."
+
+And the woodpecker still was solemnly tapping, high up in the
+chestnut-oak tree.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Birt, meanwhile, was trudging along in the woods, hardly seeing
+where he went, hardly caring.
+
+He had not had even a vague premonition when the tanner told him
+that he might have the rest of the day off.  He did not now want the
+holiday which would once have so rejoiced him, and he said as much.
+And then the tanner, making the disclosure by degrees, being truly
+sorry to part with the boy, intimated that he need come back no
+more.
+
+Birt unharnessed the mule by the sense of touch and the force of
+habit, for blinding tears intervened between his vision and the
+rusty old buckles and worn straps of leather.  The animal seemed to
+understand that something was amiss, and now and then turned his
+head interrogatively.  Somehow Birt was glad to feel that he left at
+least one friend in the tanyard, albeit the humblest, for he had
+always treated the beast with kindness, and he was sure the mule
+would miss him.
+
+When he reached home he loitered for a time outside the fence,
+trying to nerve himself to witness his mother's distress.  And at
+last his tears were dried, and he went in and told her the news.
+
+It was hard for him nowadays to understand that simple mother of
+his.  She did nothing that he expected.  To be sure her cheek paled,
+her eyes looked anxious for a moment, and her hands trembled so that
+she carefully put down upon the table a dish which she had been
+wiping.  But she said quite calmly, "Waal, sonny, I dunno but ye hed
+better take a day off from work, sure enough, an' go a-huntin'.
+Thar's yer rifle, an' mebbe ye'll git a shot at a deer down yander
+by the lick.  The chill'n haint hed no wild meat lately, 'ceptin'
+squir'ls out'n Rufe's trap."
+
+And then he began to cry out bitterly that nobody would give him
+work, and they would all starve; that the tanner believed he had
+stolen the grant, and was afraid to have him about the hides.
+
+"'Tain't no differ ez long ez 'tain't the truth," said his mother
+philosophically.  "We-uns will jes' abide by the truth."
+
+He repeated this phrase over and over as he struggled through the
+tangled underbrush of the dense forest.
+
+It was all like some terrible dream; and but for Tennessee, it would
+be the truth!  How he blessed the little sister that her love for
+him and his love for her had come between him and crime at that
+moment of temptation.
+
+"So powerful peart!" he muttered with glistening eyes, as he thought
+of her.
+
+The grant was gone, to be sure; but he did not take it.  They
+accused him--and falsely!
+
+It was something to be free and abroad in the woods.  He heard the
+wind singing in the pines.  Their fine, penetrating aroma pervaded
+the air, and the rusty needles, covering the ground, muffled his
+tread.  Once he paused--was that the bleat of a fawn, away down on
+the mountain's slope?  He heard no more, and he walked on, looking
+about with his old alert interest.  He was refreshed, invigorated,
+somehow consoled, as he went.  O wise mother! he wondered if she
+foresaw this when she sent him into the woods.
+
+He had not before noted how the season was advancing.  Here and
+there, in the midst of the dark green foliage, leaves shone so
+vividly yellow that it seemed as if upon them some fascinated
+sunbeam had expended all its glamours.  In a dusky recess he saw the
+crimson sumach flaring.  And the distant blue mountains, and the
+furthest reaches of the azure sky, and the sombre depths of the
+wooded valley, and the sheeny splendors of the afternoon sun, and
+every incident of crag or chasm--all appeared through a soft purple
+haze that possessed the air, and added an ideal embellishment to the
+scene.  Down the ravine the "lick" shone with the lustre of a silver
+lakelet.  He saw the old oak-tree hard by, with the historic
+scaffold among its thinning leaves, and further along the slope were
+visible vague bobbing figures, which he recognized as the "Griggs
+gang," seeking upon the mountain side the gold which he had
+discovered.
+
+Suddenly he heard a light crackling in the brush,--a faint footfall.
+It reminded him of the deer-path close at hand.  He crouched down
+noiselessly amongst the low growth and lifted his rifle, his eyes
+fixed on the point where the path disappeared in the bushes, and
+where he would first catch a glimpse of the approaching animal.
+
+He heard the step again.  His finger was trembling on the trigger,
+when down the path leisurely walked an old gentleman attired in
+black, a hammer in his hand, and a pair of gleaming spectacles
+poised placidly upon the bridge of an intellectual Roman nose.  And
+this queer game halted in the middle of the deer-path, all
+unconscious of his deadly danger.
+
+It was a wonder that the rifle was not discharged, for the panic-
+stricken Birt had lost control of his muscles, and his convulsive
+finger was still quivering on the trigger as he trembled from head
+to foot.  He hardly dared to try to move the gun.  For a moment he
+could not speak.  He gazed in open-mouthed amazement at the
+unsuspecting old gentleman, who was also unaware of the far more
+formidable open mouth of the rifle.
+
+"Now, ain't ye lackin' fur head-stuffin'?" suddenly yelled out Birt,
+from his hiding-place.
+
+The startled old man jumped, with the most abrupt alacrity.  In
+fact, despite his age and the lack of habit, he bounded as
+acrobatically from the ground as the expected deer could have done.
+He was, it is true, a learned man; but science has no specific for
+sudden fright, and he jumped as ignorantly as if he did not know the
+difficult name of any of the muscles that so alertly exercised
+themselves on this occasion.
+
+Birt rose at last to his feet and looked with a pallid face over the
+underbrush.  "Now, ain't ye lackin' fur head-stuffin'," he faltered,
+"a-steppin' along a deer-path ez nat'ral ez ef ye war a big fat
+buck?  I kem mighty nigh shootin' ye."
+
+The old gentleman recovered his equilibrium, mental and physical,
+with marvelous rapidity.
+
+"Ah, my young friend,"--he motioned to Birt to come nearer,--"I want
+to speak to you."
+
+Birt stared.  One might have inferred, from the tone, that the
+gentleman had expected to meet him here, whereas Birt had just had
+the best evidence of his senses that the encounter was a great
+surprise.
+
+The boy observed his interlocutor more carefully than he had yet
+been able to do.  He remembered all at once Rufe's queer story of
+meeting, down the ravine, an eccentric old man whom he was disposed
+to identify as Satan.  As the stranger stood there in the deer-path,
+he looked precisely as Rufe had described him, even to the baffling
+glitter of his spectacles, his gray whiskers, and the curiously
+shaped hammer in his hand.
+
+Birt, although bewildered and still tremulous from the shock to his
+nerves, was not so superstitious as Rufe, and he shouldered his gun,
+and, pushing out from the tangled underbrush, joined the old man in
+the path.
+
+"I want," said the gentleman, "to hire a boy for a few days--weeks,
+perhaps."
+
+He smiled with two whole rows of teeth that never grew where they
+stood.  Birt wished he could see the expression of the stranger's
+eyes, indistinguishable behind the spectacles that glimmered in the
+light.
+
+"What do you say to fifty cents a day?" he continued briskly.
+
+Birt's heart sank suddenly.  He had heard that Satan traded in souls
+by working on the avarice of the victim.  The price suggested seemed
+a great deal to Birt, for in this region there is little cash in
+circulation, barter serving all the ordinary purposes of commerce.
+
+As he hesitated, the old man eyed him quizzically.  "Afraid of work,
+eh?"
+
+"Naw, sir!" said Birt, sturdily.
+
+Ah, if the bark-mill, and the old mule, and the tan-pit, and the
+wood-pile, and the cornfield might testify!
+
+"Fifty cents a day--eh?" said the stranger.
+
+At the repetition of the sum, it occurred to Birt, growing more
+familiar with the eccentricity of his companion, that he ought not
+in sheer silliness to throw away a chance for employment.
+
+"Kin I ask my mother?" he said dubiously.
+
+"By all means ask your mother," replied the stranger heartily.
+
+Birt's last fantastic doubt vanished.  Oh no! this was not Satan in
+disguise.  When did the enemy ever counsel a boy to ask his mother!
+
+Birt still stared gravely at him.  All the details of his garb,
+manner, speech, even the hammer in his hand, were foreign to the
+boy's experience.
+
+Presently he ventured a question.  "Do you-uns hail from hyar-
+abouts?"
+
+The stranger was frank and communicative.  He told Birt that he was
+a professor of Natural Science in a college in one of the "valley
+towns," and that he was sojourning, for his health's sake, at a
+little watering-place some twelve miles distant on the bench of the
+mountain.  Occasionally he made an excursion into the range, which
+was peculiarly interesting geologically.
+
+"But what I wish you to do is to dig for--bones."
+
+"BONES?" faltered Birt.
+
+"Bones," reiterated the professor solemnly.
+
+DID his spectacles twinkle?
+
+Birt stood silent, vaguely wondering what his mother would think of
+"bones."  Presently the professor, seeing that the boy was not
+likely to ask amusing questions, explained.
+
+He informed Birt that in the neighborhood of salt licks--"saline
+quagmires" he called them--were often found the remains of animals
+of an extinct species, which are of great value to science.  He gave
+Birt the extremely long name of these animals, and descanted upon
+such conditions of their existence as is known, much of which Birt
+did not understand.  Although this fact was very apparent, it did
+not in the least affect the professor's ardor in the theme.  He was
+in the habit of talking of these things to boys who did not
+understand, and alack! to boys who did not want to understand.
+
+One point, however, he made very clear.  With the hope of some such
+"find," he was anxious to investigate this particular lick,--about
+which indeed he had heard a vague tradition of a "big bone"
+discovery, such as is common to similar localities in this region,--
+and for this purpose he proposed to furnish the science and the
+fifty cents per diem, and earnestly desired that some one else
+should furnish the muscle.
+
+He was accustomed to think much more rapidly than the men with whom
+Birt was associated, and his briskness in arranging the matter had
+an incongruous suggestion of the giddiness of youth.  He said that
+he would go home with Birt to fetch the spade, and while there he
+could settle the terms with the boy's mother, and then they could
+get to work.
+
+He started off at a dapper gait up the deer-path, while Birt, with
+his rifle on his shoulder, followed.
+
+A sudden thought struck Birt.  He stopped short.
+
+"Now _I_ dunno which side o' that thar lick Nate Griggs's line runs
+on," he remarked.
+
+"Never mind," said the professor, waving away objections with airy
+efficiency; "I shall first secure the consent of the owner of the
+land."
+
+Birt cogitated for a moment.  "Nate Griggs ain't goin' ter gin his
+cornsent ter nobody ter dig ennywhar down the ravine, ef it air
+inside o' his lines," he said confidently, "'kase I--'kase he--
+leastwise, 'kase gold hev been fund hyar lately, an' he hev entered
+the land."
+
+The professor stopped short in the path.
+
+"Gold!" he ejaculated.  "Gold!"
+
+Was there a vibration of incredulity in his voice?
+
+Birt remembered all at once the specimens which he had picked up
+that memorable evening, down the ravine, when he shot the red fox.
+Here they still were in his pocket.  They showed lustrous, metallic,
+yellow gleams as he placed them carefully in the old man's
+outstretched hand, telling how he came by them, of his mistaken
+confidence, the betrayed trust, and ending by pointing at the group
+of gold-seekers, microscopic in the distance on the opposite slope.
+
+"I hev hearn tell," he added, "ez Nate air countin' on goin'
+pardners with a man in Sparty, who hev got money, to work the gold
+mine."
+
+Now and then, as he talked, he glanced up at his companion's face,
+vaguely expecting to discover his opinion by its expression, but the
+light still played in a baffling glitter upon his spectacles.
+
+Birt could only follow when the professor suddenly handed back the
+specimens with a peremptory "Come--come!  We must go for the spade.
+But when we reach your mother's house I will test this mineral, and
+you shall see for yourself what you have lost."
+
+Mrs. Dicey's first impression upon meeting the stranger and learning
+of his mission was not altogether surprise as Birt had expected.
+Her chief absorption was a deep thankfulness that the floors all
+preserved their freshly scoured appearance.
+
+"Fur ef Rufe hed been playin' round hyar ter-day, same ez common,
+the rubbish would have been a scandal ter the kentry," she
+reflected.
+
+In fact, all was so neat, albeit so poor, that the stranger felt as
+polite as he looked, while he talked to her about employing Birt in
+his researches.
+
+Birt, however, had little disposition to listen to this.  He was
+excited by the prospect of testing the mineral, and he busied
+himself with great alacrity in preparing for it under the
+professor's directions.  He suffered a qualm, it is true, as he
+pounded the shining fragments into a coarse powder, and then he drew
+out with the shovel a great glowing mass of live coals on the
+hearth.
+
+The dogs peered eagerly in at the door, having followed the stranger
+with the liveliest curiosity.  Towse, bolder than the rest, entered
+intrepidly with a nonchalant air and a wagging tail, for he and
+Rufe, having failed to find Birt, had just returned home.  The small
+boy paused on the threshold in amazed recognition of the old
+gentleman who had occasioned him such a fright that day down the
+ravine.
+
+The professor gesticulated a great deal as he bent over the fire and
+gave Birt directions, and, with his waving hands and the glow on his
+hoary hair and beard, he looked like some fantastic sorcerer.
+Somehow Rufe was glad to see the familiar countenances of Pete and
+Joe, and was still more reassured to note that his mother was
+quietly standing beside the table, as she stirred the batter for
+bread in a wooden bowl.  Tennessee had pressed close to Birt, her
+chubby hand clutching his collar as he knelt on the hearth.  He held
+above the glowing coals a long fire shovel, on which the pulverized
+mineral had been placed, and his eyes were very bright as he
+earnestly watched it.
+
+"If it is gold," said the old man, "a moderate heat will not affect
+it."
+
+The shovel was growing hot.  The live coals glowed beneath it.  The
+breath of the fire stirred Tennessee's flaxen hair.  And Birt's
+dilated eyes saw the yellow particles still glistening unchanged in
+the centre of the shovel, which was beginning to redden.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Suddenly--was the glistening yellow mineral taking fire?  It began
+to give off sulphurous fumes.  And drifting away with them were all
+Birt's golden visions and Nate's ill-gotten wealth--ending in smoke!
+
+The sulphurous odor grew stronger.  Even Towse stopped short, and
+gazed at the shovel with a reprehensive sniff.
+
+"Ker-shoo!" he sneezed.
+
+And commenting thus, he turned abruptly and went hastily out, with a
+startled look and a downcast tail.
+
+His sneeze seemed to break the spell of silence that had fallen on
+the little group.
+
+"It be mighty nigh bodaciously changed ter cinders!" exclaimed Birt,
+staring in amaze at the lustreless contents of the shovel from which
+every suggestion of golden glimmer had faded.  "What do it be, ef
+'tain't gold?"
+
+"Iron pyrites," said the professor.  "'Fools' gold,' it is often
+called."
+
+He explained to Birt that in certain formations, however, gold is
+associated with iron pyrites, and when the mineral is properly
+roasted, this process serving to expel the sulphur, the fine
+particles of gold are found held in the resulting oxide of iron.
+But the variety of the mineral discovered down the ravine he said
+was valueless, unless occurring in vast quantities, when it is
+sometimes utilized in the production of sulphur.
+
+"I wonder," Birt broke out suddenly, "if the assayer won't find no
+gold in them samples ez Nate sent him."
+
+The professor laughed.  "The assayer will need the 'philosopher's
+stone' to find gold in any samples from this locality."
+
+"Ye knowed then, all the time, ez this stuff warn't gold?" asked
+Birt.
+
+"All the time," rejoined the elder.
+
+"An' Nate hev got the steepest, rockiest spot in the kentry ter pay
+taxes on," resumed Birt, reflectively.  "An' he hev shelled out a
+power o' money ter the surveyor, an' sech, a'ready.  I reckon he'll
+be mightily outed when he finds out ez the min'ral ain't gold."
+
+Birt stopped short in renewed anxiety.
+
+That missing grant!  Somehow he felt sure that Nate, balked of the
+great gains he had promised himself, would wreak his disappointment
+wherever he might; and since the land was of so little value, he
+would not continue to deny himself his revenge for fear that an
+investigation into the priority of the mineral's discovery might
+invalidate the entry.  Once more Birt was tortured by the terror of
+arrest--he might yet suffer a prosecution from malignity, which had
+hitherto been withheld from policy.  If only the mystery of the lost
+grant could be solved!
+
+The conversation of the elders had returned to the subject of the
+investigations around the "lick" and the terms for Birt's services.
+As so much time had been consumed with the pyrites, the professor
+concluded with some vexation that they could hardly arrange all the
+preliminaries and get to work this afternoon.
+
+"I dare say we had best begin to-morrow morning," he said at last.
+
+"Birt can't go a-diggin' no-ways, this evenin'," put in the
+officious Rufe, who stood, according to his wont, listening with his
+mouth and eyes wide open, "'kase ez I kem home by the tanyard Jube
+Perkins hollered ter me ter tell Birt ter come thar right quick.  I
+furgot it till this minit," he added, with a shade of embarrassment
+that might pass for apology.
+
+Birt felt a prophetic thrill.  This summons promised developments of
+importance.  Only a few hours ago he was discharged under suspicion
+of dishonesty; why this sudden recall?  He did not know whether hope
+or fear was paramount.  He trembled with eager expectancy.  He
+seized his hat, and strode out of the house without waiting to hear
+more of the professor's plans or the details of the wages.
+
+He had reached the fence before he discovered Tennessee close at his
+heels.  He cast his troubled eyes down upon her, and met her
+pleading, upturned gaze.  He was about to charge her to go back.
+But then he remembered how she had followed him with blessings--how
+mercy had kept pace with her steps.  He would not deny her the
+simple boon she craved, and if she were troublesome and in his way,
+surely he might be patient with her, since she loved him so!  He
+lifted her over the fence, and then started briskly down the path,
+the sturdy, light-footed little mountain girl delightedly trudging
+along in the rear.
+
+When he entered the tanyard no one was there except Jube Perkins and
+Andy Byers the tanner, lounging as usual on the wood-pile, and the
+workman, with scarcely less the aspect of idleness, dawdlingly
+scraping a hide on the wooden horse.  Birt discerned a portent in
+the unwonted solemnity of their faces, and his heart sank.
+
+"Waal, Birt, we-uns hev been a-waitin' fur ye," said the tanner in a
+subdued, grave tone that somehow reminded Birt of the bated voices
+in a house of death.  "Set down hyar on the wood-pile, fur Andy an'
+me hev got a word ter say ter ye."
+
+Birt's dilated black eyes turned in dumb appeal from one to the
+other as he sank down on the wood-pile.  His suspense gnawed him
+like an actual grief while Jubal Perkins slowly shifted his position
+and looked vaguely at Andy Byers for a suggestion, being uncertain
+how to begin.
+
+"Waal, Birt," he drawled at last, "ez yer dad is dead an' ye hev got
+nobody ter see arter ye an' advise ye, Andy an' me, we-uns agreed ez
+how we'd talk ter ye right plain, an' try ter git ye ter jedge o'
+this hyar matter like we-uns do.  Andy an' me know more 'bout the
+law, an' 'bout folks too, than ye does.  These hyar Griggs folks hev
+always been misdoubted ez a fractious an' contrary-wise fambly.  Ef
+enny Griggs ain't aggervatin' an' captious, it air through bein'
+plumb terrified by the t'others.  They air powerful hard folks--an'
+they'll land ye in the State Prison yet, I'm thinkin'.  I wonder
+they hain't started at ye a'ready.  But thar's no countin' on 'em,
+'ceptin' that they'll do all they kin that air ha'sh an' grindin'."
+
+"That air a true word, Birt," said Andy Byers, speaking to the boy
+for the first time in many days.  "Ef they hev thar reason fur it,
+they mought hold thar hand fur a time, but fust or las' they'll hev
+all out'n ye ez the law will allow 'em."
+
+Birt listened in desperation.  All this was sharpened by the
+certainty that the mineral was only valueless pyrites, and the
+prescience of Nate's anger when this fact should come to his
+knowledge, and prudence no longer restrain him.  His rage would vent
+itself on his luckless victim for every cent, every mill, that the
+discovery of the "fools' gold" had cost him.
+
+"They'll be takin' ye away from the mountings ter jail ye an' try
+ye, an' mebbe ye'll go ter the pen'tiary arter that.  An' how will
+yer mother, an' brothers, an' sister, git thar vittles, an'
+firewood, an' corn-crap an' clothes, an' sech--Rufe bein' the oldest
+child, arter you-uns?" demanded the tanner.  "An' even when ye git
+back--I hate ter tell ye this word--nobody will want ye round.
+They'll be feared ye'd be forever pickin' an' stealin'."
+
+"But we-uns will stand up fur ye, bein' ez ye air the widder's son,"
+said Byers eagerly.  "We-uns will gin the Griggs tribe ter
+onderstand that."
+
+"An' mebbe the Griggses won't want ter do nuthin', ef they hain't
+got no furder cause fur holdin' a grudge," put in the tanner.
+
+"What be ye a-layin' off fur me ter do?" asked Birt wonderingly.
+
+"Ter gin Nate's grant back ter him," they both replied in a breath.
+
+"I hev not got it!" cried poor Birt tumultuously.  "I never stole
+it!  I dunno whar it be!"
+
+The tanner's expression changed from paternal kindliness to
+contemptuous anger.
+
+"Air ye goin' ter keep on bein' a liar, Birt, ez well ez a thief?"
+he said sternly.
+
+"I dunno whar it be," reiterated Birt desperately.
+
+"_I_ know whar it be," said Byers.  Birt gazed at him astounded.
+
+"Whar?" he cried eagerly.
+
+"Whar ye hid it," returned Byers coolly.
+
+Birt's lips moved with difficulty as he huskily ejaculated "I never
+hid it--I never!"
+
+"Ye needn't deny it.  I ez good ez seen ye hide it."
+
+Birt looked dazed for a moment.  Then the blood rushed to his face
+and as suddenly receded, leaving it pale and rigid.  He was cold and
+trembling.  He could not speak.
+
+The tanner scrutinized him narrowly.  Then he said, "Tell him 'bout
+it, Andy.  Tell him jes' ez ye tole me.  An' mebbe he'll hev sense
+enough ter gin it up when he sees he air fairly caught."
+
+"Waal," said Byers, leaning back against the wall of the smoke-
+house, and holding the knife idly poised in his hand, "I kem down
+ter the tanyard betimes that mornin' arter the storm.  Both ye an'
+Birt war late.  I noticed Nate Griggs's coat hangin' thar in the
+shed, with a paper stickin' out'n the pocket, ez I started inter the
+smoke-house ter tend ter the fire.  I reckon I mus' hev made
+consider'ble racket in thar, 'kase I never hearn nuthin' till I sot
+down afore the fire on a log o' wood, an' lit my pipe.  All of a
+suddenty thar kem a step outside, toler'ble light on the tan.  I
+jes' 'lowed 't war ye or Birt.  But I happened ter look up, an' thar
+I see a couple o' big black eyes peepin' through that thar crack in
+the wall."
+
+He turned and pointed out a crevice where the "daubin'" had fallen
+from the "chinkin'" between the logs.
+
+"Ye can see," he resumed, "ez this hyar crack air jes' the height o'
+Birt.  Waal, them eyes lookin' in so onexpected didn't 'sturb me
+none.  I hev knowed the Dicey eye fur thirty year, an' thar ain't
+none like 'em nowhar round the mountings.  But I 'lowed 't war
+toler'ble sassy in Birt ter stand thar peerin' at me through the
+chinkin'.  I never let on, though, ez I viewed him.  An' then, them
+eyes jes' set up sech a outdacious winkin' an' wallin', an'
+squinchin', ez I knowed he war makin' faces at me.  So I jes' riz
+up--an' the eyes slipped away from thar in a hurry.  I war aimin'
+ter larrup Birt fur his sass, but I stopped ter hang up a skin ez I
+hed knocked down.  It never tuk me long, much, but when I went out,
+thar warn't nobody ter be seen in the tanyard."
+
+He paused to place one foot upon the wooden horse, and he leaned
+forward with a reflective expression, his elbow on his knee, and his
+hand holding his bearded chin.
+
+The afternoon was waning.  The scarlet sun in magnified splendor was
+ablaze low down in the saffron west.  The world seemed languorously
+afloat in the deep, serene flood of light.  Shadows were lengthening
+slowly.  The clangor of a cow-bell vibrated in the distance.
+
+The drone of Andy Byers's voice overbore it as he recommenced.
+
+"Waal, I was sorter conflusticated, an' I looked round powerful
+sharp ter see whar Birt hed disappeared to.  I happened ter cut my
+eye round at that thar pit ez he hed finished layin' the tan in, an'
+kivered with boards, an' weighted with rocks that day ez ye an' me
+hed ter go an' attend on old Mrs. Price.  Ye know we counted ez that
+thar pit wouldn't be opened ag'in fur a right smart time?"
+
+The tanner nodded assent.
+
+"Waal, I noticed ez the aidge o' one o' them boards war sot sorter
+catawampus, an' I 'lowed ez 't war the wind ez hed 'sturbed it.  Ez
+I stooped down ter move it back in its place, I seen su'thin' white
+under it.  So I lifted the board, an' thar I see, lyin' on the tan
+a-top o' the pit, a stiff white paper.  I looked round toward the
+shed, an' thar hung the coat yit--with nuthin' in the pocket.  I
+didn't know edzactly what ter make of it, an' I jes' shunted the
+plank back over the paper in the pit like I fund it, an' waited ter
+see what mought happen.  An' all the time ez that thar racket war
+goin' on bout'n the grant, I knowed powerful well whar 't war, an'
+who stole it."
+
+Birt looked from one to the other of the two men.  Both evidently
+believed every syllable of this story.  It was so natural, so
+credible, that he had a curious sense of inclining toward it, too.
+Had he indeed, in some aberration, taken the grant?  Was it some
+tricksy spirit in his likeness that had peered through the chinking
+at Andy Byers?
+
+He could find no words to contend further.  He sat silent, numb,
+dumfounded.
+
+"Birt," said the tanner coaxingly, "thar ain't no use in denyin' it
+enny mo'.  Let's go an' git that grant, an' take it ter Nate an'
+tell the truth."
+
+The words roused Birt.  He clutched at the idea of getting
+possession of the paper that had so mysteriously disappeared and
+baffled and eluded him.  He could at least return it.  And even if
+this should fail to secure him lenient treatment, he would feel that
+he had done right.  He rose suddenly in feverish anxiety.
+
+Andy Byers and Perkins, exchanging a wink of congratulation,
+followed him to the pit.
+
+"It air under this hyar board," said Byers, moving one of the heavy
+stones, and lifting a broad plank.
+
+Perkins pressed forward with eager curiosity, never having seen this
+famous grant.
+
+The ground bark on the surface was pretty dry, the layer being ten
+or fifteen inches thick, and the tanning infusion had not yet risen
+through it.
+
+Byers stared with a frown at the tan, and lifted another board.
+Nothing appeared beneath it on the smooth surface of the bark.
+
+In sudden alarm they took away the boards, one after another, till
+all were removed, and the whole surface of the pit was exposed.
+
+Then they looked at each other, bewildered.  For once more the grant
+was gone.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+Jubal Perkins broke the silence.
+
+"Andy Byers," he exclaimed wrathfully, "what sort 'n tale is this ez
+ye air tryin' ter fool me with?"
+
+Byers, perturbed and indignant, was instantly ready to accuse Birt.
+
+"Ye hev been hyar an' got the grant an' sneaked it off agin, hev
+ye!" he cried, scowling at the boy.
+
+Then he turned to the tanner.  "I hope I may drap dead, Jube," he
+said earnestly, "ef that grant warn't right hyar"--he pointed at the
+spot--"las' night whenst I lef' the tanyard.  I always looked late
+every evenin' ter be sure it hedn't been teched, thinkin' I'd make
+up my mind in the night whether I'd tell on Birt, or no.  But I
+never could git plumb sati'fied what to do."
+
+His tone carried conviction.  The tanner looked at Birt with
+disappointment in every line of his face.  There was severity, too,
+in his expression.  He was beginning to admit the fitness of harsh
+punishment in this case.
+
+"Ye don't wuth all this gabblin' an' jawin' over ye, ye miser'ble
+leetle critter," he said.  "An' I ain't goin' ter waste another
+breath on ye."
+
+Birt stood vacantly staring at the tan.  All the energy of the truth
+was nullified by the futility of protestation.
+
+The two men exchanged a glance of vague comment upon his silence,
+and then they too looked idly down at the pit.
+
+Tennessee abruptly caught Birt's listless hand as it hung at his
+side, for Towse had suddenly entered the tanyard, and prancing up to
+her in joyous recognition, was trying to lick her face.
+
+"G'way, Towse," she drawled gutturally.  She struck vaguely at him
+with her chubby little fist, which he waggishly took between his
+teeth in a gingerly gentle grip.
+
+"Stand back thar, Tennessee," Birt murmured mechanically.
+
+As usual, Towse was the precursor of Rufe, who presently dawdled out
+from the underbrush.  He quickened his steps upon observing the
+intent attitude of the party, and as he came up he demanded
+vivaciously, "What ails that thar pit o' yourn, Mister Perkins?--
+thought ye said 't warn't goin' ter be opened ag'in fore-shortly."
+
+For a moment the tanner made no reply.  Then he drawled absently,
+"Nuthin' ails the pit, Rufe--nuthin'."
+
+Rufe sat down on the edge of it, and gazed speculatively at it.
+Presently he began anew, unabashed by the silence of the grave and
+contemplative group.
+
+"This hyar tan hev got sorter moist atop now; I wonder ef that thar
+grant o' Nate's got spi'led ennywise with the damp."
+
+Birt winced.  It had been a certain mitigation of his trouble that,
+thanks to his mother's caution, the children at home knew nothing of
+the disgrace that had fallen upon him, and that there, at least, the
+atmosphere was untainted with suspicion.
+
+The next moment he was impressed by the singularity of Rufe's
+mention of the missing grant and its place of concealment.
+
+"Look-a-hyar, Rufe," he exclaimed, excitedly; "how d'ye know
+ennything 'bout Nate's grant an' whar 't war hid?"
+
+Rufe glanced up scornfully, insulted in some occult manner by the
+question.
+
+"How did I know, Birt Dicey?  How d'ye know yerse'f?" he retorted.
+"I knows a heap, ginerally."
+
+Perkins, catching the drift of Birt's intention, came to the rescue.
+
+"Say, bub, how d'ye know the grant war ever put hyar?"
+
+"Kase," responded Rufe, more amicably, "I seen it put hyar--right
+yander."
+
+He indicated the spot where the paper lay, according to Byers, when
+it was discovered.
+
+Birt could hardly breathe.  His anxieties, his hopes, his fears,
+seemed a pursuing pack before which he was almost spent.  He panted
+like a hunted creature.  Tennessee was swinging herself to and fro,
+holding by his hand.  Sometimes she caught at Towse's unlovely ear,
+as he sat close by with his tongue lolled out and an attentive air,
+as if he were assisting at the discussion.
+
+"Who put it thar, bub?" demanded Perkins.
+
+It would not have surprised Birt, so perverse had been the course of
+events, if Rufe had accused him on the spot.
+
+"Pig-wigs Griggs," replied Rufe, unexpectedly.
+
+A glance of intelligence passed between the men.
+
+"Tell 'bout it, Rufe," said the tanner, suppressing all appearance
+of excitement.
+
+"Ye ain't goin' ter do nuthin' ter Pig-wigs fur foolin' with yer
+pit, ef I tell ye?" asked Rufe, quickly.
+
+"Naw, bub, naw.  Which Griggs do ye call 'Pig-wigs?'"
+
+"Why--PIG-WIGS," Rufe reiterated obviously.
+
+Then he explained.  "He air Nate's nevy.  He air Nate's oldest
+brother's biggest boy,--though he ain't sizable much.  He air 'bout
+haffen ez big ez me--ef that," he added reflectively, thinking that
+even thus divided he had represented Pig-wigs as more massive than
+the facts justified.
+
+"Ye see," he continued, "one day when his uncle Tim war over hyar
+ter the tanyard, I gin him one o' my game deedies; an' ez soon ez he
+got home he showed 'em all that thar deedie--powerful, spryest
+poultry ye ever see!"
+
+Rufe smiled ecstatically as only a chicken fancier can.
+
+"An' Pig-wigs war plumb DE-stracted fur a deedie too.  An' he run
+all the way over hyar ter git me ter gin him one.  But the deedies
+hed all gone ter bed, an' the old hen war hoverin' of 'em, an' I
+didn't want ter 'sturb 'em," said Rufe considerately.  "So I tole
+Pig-wigs ter meet me at the tanyard early, an' I'd fetch him one.
+An' ez his granny war goin' visitin' her merried daughter, she let
+him ride behind her on thar sorrel mare ez fur ez the tanyard.  So
+he got hyar 'fore I did.  An' I kem an' gin him the deedie."
+
+Rufe paused abruptly, as if, having narrated this important
+transaction, he had exhausted the interest of the subject.
+
+Byers was about to speak, but the tanner with a gesture repressed
+him.
+
+"Ye hain't tole 'bout the pit an' the grant yit, bubby," he reminded
+the small boy.
+
+Byers's display of impatience was not lost upon Rufe, and it added
+to the general acrimony of their relations.
+
+"Waal," the small boy began alertly, "we-uns hed the deedie behind
+the smoke-house thar, an' I seen HIM"--Rufe pointed at Byers with
+disfavor--"a-comin' powerful slow inter the tanyard, an' I whispered
+ter Pig-wigs Griggs ter be quiet, an' not let HIM know ez we-uns war
+thar, 'kase he war always a-jawin' at me, 'thout the tanner war by
+ter keep him off'n me.  So we-uns bided thar till HE went inter the
+smoke-house.  An' then ez we-uns kem by the shed, Pig-wigs seen his
+uncle Nate's coat hangin' on a peg thar, 'kase that thar triflin'
+Tim hed furgot, an' lef' it thar when he went ter see the deedies.
+An' Pig-wigs Griggs, he 'lowed he knowed the coat war his uncle
+Nate's by the favior of it, an' he reckoned the paper stickin' out'n
+the pocket war the grant he hed hearn Nate talkin' 'bout.  An' I
+whispered ter him ez he hed better ondertake ter tote it home ter
+Nate.  An' Pig-wigs said he couldn't tote the coat, bein' so
+lumbered up with the deedie.  But he would tote the grant in one
+hand an' the deedie in t'other.  He couldn't put the deedie in one
+o' his pockets, 'kase his mother sews 'em all up, bein' ez he WOULD
+kerry sech a passel o' heavy truck in 'em,--rocks an' sech, reg'lar
+bowlders," added Rufe, with a casual remembrance of the museum in
+his own pockets.  "So Pig-wigs's mother sewed 'em all up, 'kase she
+said they war tore out all the time, an' she seen no sense in a boy
+hevin' a lot o' slits in his clothes ter let in the air slanchwise
+on him.  An' Pig-wigs 'lowed he'd tote the grant ef I would git it
+fur him.  An' I did."
+
+"How did you-uns reach up ter that thar peg?" demanded Byers,
+pointing to the peg on which the coat had hung, far beyond Rufe's
+reach.
+
+"Clumb up on the wooden horse," said Rufe promptly.  "I peeked
+through the chinkin' an' seen ye thar a-smokin' yer pipe over the
+fire."
+
+Rufe winked audaciously, suddenly convincing Byers as to the
+possessor of the big black eyes, which he had recognized as
+characteristic of the Dicey family, when they had peered through the
+chinking.
+
+"Waal, how did the grant git inter the pit, Rufe, an' what hev
+become of it?" asked Byers, overlooking these personalities, for he
+felt a certain anxiety in the matter, being the last person known to
+have seen the grant, which, by reason of his delay and indecision,
+had again been spirited away.
+
+"Pig-wigs put it thar, I tell ye," reiterated Rufe.  "Ye see, I hed
+got outside o' the gate, an' Pig-wigs war a good ways behind,
+walkin' toler'ble slow, bein' ez he hed ter kerry the grant in one
+hand an' the deedie in t'other.  An' thar I see a-cropin' along on
+the ground a young rabbit--reg'lar baby rabbit.  An' I motioned ter
+Pig-wigs ter come quick--I hed fund suthin'.  An' ez Pig-wigs
+couldn't put the deedie down, he laid the grant on top o' the boards
+ez kivered the pit.  But the wind war brief, an' kem mighty nigh
+blowin' that grant away.  So Pig-wigs jes' stuck it down 'twixt two
+planks, an' kem ter holp me ketch the rabbit.  But Pig-wigs warn't
+no 'count ter holp.  An' the rabbit got away.  An' whilst Pig-wigs
+war foolin' round, he drapped his deedie, an' stepped on it--tromped
+the life out'n it."  Rufe's expression was of funereal gravity.
+"An' then he follered me every foot o' the way home, beggin' an'
+beggin' me ter gin him another.  But I wouldn't.  I won't gin no
+more o' my deedies ter be tromped on, all round the mounting."
+
+Rufe evidently felt that the line must be drawn somewhere.
+
+"An' what hev gone with that thar grant?  'T war hyar yestiddy."
+
+"I dunno," responded Rufe, carelessly.  "Mebbe Pig-wigs reminded
+hisself 'bout'n it arter awhile, an' kem an' got it."
+
+This proved to be the case.  For Andy Byers concerned himself enough
+in the matter to ride the old mule over to Nate's home, to push the
+inquiries.  Nate was just emerging from the door.  The claybank
+mare, saddled and bridled, stood in front of the cabin.  He was
+evidently about to mount.
+
+"Look-a-hyar, ye scamp!" Byers saluted him gruffly, "whyn't ye let
+we-uns know ez ye hed got back that thar grant o' yourn, ez hev sot
+the whole mounting catawampus?  Pig-wigs hearn ye talkin' 'bout it
+at las', and tole ye ez he hed it, I s'pose?"
+
+Nate affected to examine the saddle-girth.  He looked furtively over
+the mare's shoulder at Andy Byers.  He could not guess how much of
+the facts had been developed.  In sheer perversity he was tempted to
+deny that he had the grant.  But Byers was a heavy man of scant
+patience, and he wore a surly air that boded ill to a trifler.
+
+Nate nodded admission.
+
+"Pig-wigs fotched it home, eh?" demanded Byers, leaning downward.
+
+Once more Nate lifted his long, thin questioning face.  His craft
+had no encouragement.
+
+"Ef ye be minded to call him 'Pig-wigs'--his right name air
+Benjymen--'t war him ez fotched it home."
+
+"Now ye air a mighty cantankerous, quar'lsome, aggervatin' critter!"
+Byers broke out irritably.  "Ain't ye 'shamed o' this hyar hurrah ye
+hev kicked up fur nuthin'? accusin' o' Birt wrongful, an' sech?"
+
+"Naw; I ain't 'shamed o' nuthin'!" said Nate hardily, springing into
+the saddle.  "I'm a-ridin' ter the SettleMINT ter git word from the
+assayer 'bout'n the gold ez I hev fund.  An' when I rides back I'll
+be wuth more'n enny man in the mountings or Sparty either!"
+
+And he gave the mare the whip, and left Andy Byers, with his mouth
+full of rebukes, sitting motionless on the dozing old mule.
+
+The mare came back from the Settlement late that night under lash
+and spur, at a speed she had never before made.  Day was hardly
+astir when Nate Griggs, wild-eyed and haggard, appeared at the
+tanyard in search of Birt.  He was loud with reproaches, for the
+assayer had pronounced the "gold" only worthless iron pyrites.  He
+had received, too, a jeering letter from his proposed partner in
+Sparta, who had found sport in playing on his consequential
+ignorance and fancied sharpness.  And now Nate declared that Birt,
+also, had known that the mineral was valueless, and had from the
+first befooled him.  In some way he would compel Birt to refund all
+the money that had been expended.  How piteous was Nate as he stood
+and checked off, on his trembling fingers, the surveyor's fee, the
+entry-taker's fee, the register's fee, the secretary of State's fee,
+the assayer's fee--Oh, ruin, ruin!  And what had he to show for it!
+a tract of crags and chasms and precipitous gravelly slopes and
+gullies worth not a mill an acre!  And this was all--for the office
+of laughing-stock has no emoluments.  Where was Birt?  He would hold
+Birt to account.
+
+Andy Byers, listening, thought how well it was for Birt that Nate no
+longer had the loss of the grant as a grievance.
+
+Perkins mysteriously beckoned Nate aside.  "Nate," he said in a low
+voice, "Birt air powerful mad 'bout that thar accusin' him o'
+stealin' the grant, when 't war some o' yer own folks, 'Pig-wigs,'
+ez hed it all the time.  I seen him goin' 'long towards yer house a
+leetle while ago.  I reckon he air lookin' fur you.  He hed that big
+cowhide, ez I gin him t'other day, in one hand.  Ye jes' take the
+road home, an' ye'll ketch up with him sure."
+
+Nate's wits were in disastrous eclipse.  Could he deduce nothing
+from the tanner's grin?  He spent the day at the Settlement without
+ostensible reason, and only at nightfall did he return home, and by
+a devious route, very different from that indicated by Jubal
+Perkins.
+
+Inquiry developed the fact that the boundaries of Nate's land did
+not include the salt lick, and his talents as an obstructer were not
+called into play.  The professor was free to dig as he chose for the
+antique bones he sought, and many a long day did he and Birt spend
+in this sequestered spot, with the great crags towering above and
+the darkling vistas of the ravine on either hand.  There was a long
+stretch of sunny weather, and somehow that shifting purple haze
+accented all its languorous lustres.  It seemed a vague sort of
+poetry a-loose in the air, and color had license.  The law which
+decreed that a leaf should be green was a dead letter.  How
+gallantly red and yellow they flared; and others, how tenderly pink,
+and gray, and purplish of hue!  What poly-tinted fancies underfoot
+in the moss!  Strange visitants came from the north.  Flocks of
+birds, southward bound, skimmed these alien skies.  Sometimes they
+alighted on the tree-tops or along the banks of the torrent,
+chattering in great excitement, commenting mightily on the country.
+
+Birt had never been so light-hearted as during these days.  The
+cessation of anxiety was itself a sort of happiness.  The long, hard
+ordeal to which the truth had subjected him had ended triumphantly.
+
+"Mighty onexpected things happen in this worl'," he said,
+reflectively.  "It 'pears powerful cur'ous to me, arter all ez hev
+come an' gone, ez _I_ ain't no loser by that thar gold mine down the
+ravine."
+
+He himself was surprised that he did not rejoice in Nate's
+mortification and defeat.  But somehow he had struck a moral
+equilibrium; in mastering his anger and thirst for revenge, he had
+gained a stronger control of all the more unworthy impulses of his
+nature.
+
+Meantime there was woe at the tanyard.  Jube Perkins had been
+anxious to have Birt resume his old place on the old terms.  The
+professor, however, would not release the boy from his engagement.
+It seemed that this man of science could deduce subtle distinctions
+of character in the mere wielding of a spade.  He had never seen, he
+said, any one dig so conscientiously and so intelligently as Birt.
+The tanner suddenly found that conscience might prove a factor even
+in so simple a matter as driving the old mule around the bark-mill.
+The boy who had taken Birt's place was a sullen, intractable fellow,
+and brutal.  When he yelled and swore and plied the lash, the old
+mule would occasionally back his ears.  The climax came one day when
+the rash boy kicked the animal.  Now this reminded the mild-mannered
+old mule of his own youthful prowess as a kicker.  He revived his
+reputation.  He seemed to stand on his fore-legs and his muzzle,
+while his hind-legs played havoc behind him.  The terrified boy
+dared not come near him.  The bark-mill itself was endangered.  Jube
+Perkins had not done so much work for a twelvemonth as in his
+efforts to keep the boy, the mule, and the bark-mill going together.
+
+There were no "finds" down by the lick to rejoice the professor, and
+he went away at last boneless, except in so far as nature had
+provided him.  He left Birt amply rewarded for his labor.  So
+independent did Mrs. Dicey feel with this sum of money in reserve,
+that she would not agree that Birt should work on the old terms with
+the tanner.  Birt was dismayed by this temerity.  Once more,
+however, he recognized her acumen, for Jubal Perkins, although he
+left the house in a huff, came back again and promised good wages.
+Ignorant and simple as she was, her keen instinct for her son's best
+interest, his true welfare, endowed her words with wisdom.
+Thenceforth he esteemed no friend, no ally, equal to his mother.
+
+It delighted him to witness her triumph in the proof of his
+innocence, and indeed she did not in this matter bear herself with
+meekness.  It made him feel so prosperous to note her relapse into
+her old caustic habit of speech.  Ah, if he were hurt or sore beset,
+every word would be tenderness.
+
+Birt shortly compassed a much desired object.  The mule's revival of
+his ancient glories as a "turrible kicker" had injured his market
+value, and Birt's earnings enabled him to purchase the animal at a
+low price.  The mule lived to a great age, always with his master as
+"mild-mannered" as a lamb.
+
+For some time Birt saw nothing of Nate, but one day the quondam
+friends met face to face on a narrow, precipitous path on the
+mountain side.  Abject fear was expressed in Nate's sharp features,
+for escape was impossible.
+
+There was no need of either fear or flight.
+
+"How air ye, I'on Pyrite!" cried Birt cheerfully.
+
+The martyr's countenance changed.
+
+"Ye never done me right 'bout that thar mine, Birt Dicey," Nate said
+reproachfully.  "Ye mus' hev knowed from the fust ez them thar rocks
+war good fur nuthin'."
+
+"Ye air the deceivinest sandy-headed Pyrite that ever war on the top
+o' this mounting, an' ye knows it," Birt retorted in high good
+humor; "an' ef it war wuth my while I'd gin ye a old-fashion
+larrupin' jes' ter pay ye fur the trick ez ye played on me.  But I
+ain't keerin' fur that, now.  Stan' back thar, Tennessee!"
+
+Since then, Tennessee, always preserving the influence she wielded
+that memorable night, has grown to be a woman--never pretty, but, as
+her brother still stoutly avers, "powerful peart."
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 5306 ***
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+<title>Down the Ravine | Project Gutenberg</title>
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+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 5306 ***</div>
+
+DOWN THE RAVINE BY CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER I.<br/>
+<br/>
+The new moon, a gleaming scimitar, cleft the gauzy mists above a rugged
+spur of the Cumberland Mountains.&nbsp; The sky, still crimson and amber,
+stretched vast and lonely above the vast and lonely landscape.&nbsp;
+A fox was barking in the laurel.<br/>
+<br/>
+This was an imprudent proceeding on the part of the fox, considering
+the value of his head-gear.&nbsp; A young mountaineer down the ravine
+was reminded, by the sharp, abrupt sound, of a premium offered by the
+State of Tennessee for the scalp and ears of the pestiferous red fox.<br/>
+<br/>
+All unconscious of the legislation of extermination, the animal sped
+nimbly along the ledge of a cliff, becoming visible from the ravine
+below, a tawny streak against the gray rock.&nbsp; Swift though he was,
+a jet of red light flashing out in the dusk was yet swifter.&nbsp; The
+echoing crags clamored with the report of a rifle.&nbsp; The tawny streak
+was suddenly still.&nbsp; Three boys appeared in the depths of the ravine
+and looked up.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Thar now!&nbsp; Ye can&rsquo;t git him off&rsquo;n that thar
+ledge, Birt,&rdquo; said Tim Griggs.&nbsp; &ldquo;The contrairy beastis
+couldn&rsquo;t hev fund a more ill-convenient spot ter die of he hed
+sarched the mounting.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter leave him thar, though,&rdquo;
+stoutly declared the boy who still held the rifle.&nbsp; &ldquo;That
+thar fox&rsquo;s scalp an&rsquo; his two ears air wuth one whole dollar.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Tim remonstrated.&nbsp; &ldquo;Look-a-hyar, Birt; ef ye try ter climb
+up this hyar bluff, ye&rsquo;ll git yer neck bruk, sure.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt Dicey looked up critically.&nbsp; It was a rugged ascent of forty
+feet or more to the narrow ledge where the red fox lay.&nbsp; Although
+the face of the cliff was jagged, the rock greatly splintered and fissured,
+with many ledges, and here and there a tuft of weeds or a stunted bush
+growing in a niche, it was very steep, and would afford precarious foothold.&nbsp;
+The sunset was fading.&nbsp; The uncertain light would multiply the
+dangers of the attempt.&nbsp; But to leave a dollar lying there on the
+fox&rsquo;s head, that the wolf and the buzzard might dine expensively
+to-morrow!<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; me so tried for money!&rdquo; he exclaimed, thinking
+aloud.<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate Griggs, who had not before spoken, gave a sudden laugh, - a dry,
+jeering laugh.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ef all the foxes on the mounting war ter hold a pertracted meet&rsquo;n,
+jes&rsquo; ter pleasure you-uns, thar wouldn&rsquo;t be enough scalps
+an&rsquo; ears &rsquo;mongst &rsquo;em ter make up the money ye hanker
+fur ter buy a horse.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+To buy a horse was the height of Birt&rsquo;s ambition.&nbsp; His mother
+was a widow; and as an instance of the fact that misfortunes seldom
+come singly, the horse on which the family depended to till their scanty
+acres died shortly after his owner.&nbsp; And so, whenever the spring
+opened and the ploughs all over the countryside were starting, their
+one chance to cultivate a crop was to hire a mule from their nearest
+neighbor, the tanner.&nbsp; Birt was the eldest son, and his mother
+had only his work to offer in payment.&nbsp; The proposition always
+took the tanner in what he called a &ldquo;jubious time.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Spring is the season for stripping the trees of their bark, which is
+richer in tannin when the sap flows most freely, and the mule was needed
+to haul up the piles of bark from out the depths of the woods to the
+tanyard.&nbsp; Then, too, Jubal Perkins had his own crops to put in.&nbsp;
+As he often remarked in the course of the negotiation, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t
+eat tan bark - nor yit raw hides.&rdquo;&nbsp; Although the mule was
+a multifarious animal, and ploughed and worked in the bark-mill, and
+hauled from the woods, and went long journeys in the wagon or under
+the saddle, he was not ubiquitous, and it was impossible for him to
+be in the several places in which he was urgently needed at the same
+time.&nbsp; Therefore, to hire him out on these terms seemed hardly
+an advantage to his master.&nbsp; Nevertheless, this bargain was annually
+struck.&nbsp; The poverty-stricken widow always congratulated herself
+upon its conclusion, and it never occurred to her that the amount of
+work that Birt did in the tanyard was a disproportionately large return
+for the few days that the tanner&rsquo;s mule ploughed their little
+fields.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, however, was beginning to see that a boy to drive that mule around
+the bark-mill was as essential as the mule himself.&nbsp; As Providence
+had failed to furnish the tanner with a son for this purpose - his family
+consisting of several small daughters - Birt supplied a long-felt want.<br/>
+<br/>
+The boy appreciated that his simple mother was over-reached, yet he
+could not see that she could do otherwise.&nbsp; He sighed for independence,
+for a larger opportunity.&nbsp; As he drove the mule round the limited
+circuit, his mind was far away.&nbsp; He anxiously canvassed the future.&nbsp;
+He cherished fiery, ambitious schemes, - often scorched, poor fellow,
+by their futility.&nbsp; With his time thus mortgaged, he thought his
+help to his mother was far less than it might be.&nbsp; But until he
+could have a horse of his own, there was no hope - no progress.&nbsp;
+And for this he planned, and dreamed, and saved.<br/>
+<br/>
+Partly these considerations, partly the love of adventure, and partly
+the jeer in Nate&rsquo;s laugh determined him not to relinquish the
+price set upon the fox&rsquo;s head.&nbsp; He took off his coat and
+flung it on the ground beside his rifle.&nbsp; Then he began to clamber
+up the cliff.<br/>
+<br/>
+The two brothers, their hands in the pockets of their brown jeans trousers,
+stood watching his ascent.&nbsp; Nate had sandy hair, small gray eyes,
+set much too close together, and a sharp, pale, freckled face.&nbsp;
+Tim seemed only a mild repetition of him, as if Nature had tried to
+illustrate what Nate would be with a better temper and less sly intelligence.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt was climbing slowly.&nbsp; It was a difficult matter.&nbsp; Here
+was a crevice that would hardly admit his eager fingers, and again a
+projection so narrow that it seemed to grudge him foothold.&nbsp; Some
+of the ledges, however, were wider, and occasionally a dwarfed huckleberry
+bush, nourished in a fissure, lifted him up like a helping hand.&nbsp;
+He quaked as he heard the roots strain and creak, for he was a pretty
+heavy fellow for sixteen years of age.&nbsp; They did not give way,
+however, and up and up he went, every moment increasing the depth below
+him and the danger.&nbsp; His breath was short; his strength flagged,
+he slipped more than once, giving himself a great fright; and when he
+reached the ledge where the dead fox lay, he thought, &ldquo;The varmint
+don&rsquo;t wuth it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nevertheless he whooped out his triumph to Nate and Tim in a stentorian
+halloo, for they had already started homeward, and presently their voices
+died in the distance.&nbsp; Birt faced about and sat down on the ledge
+to rest, his feet dangling over the depths beneath.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was a lonely spot, walled in by the mountains, and frequented only
+by the deer that were wont to come to lick salt from the briny margin
+of a great salt spring far down the ravine.&nbsp; Their hoofs had worn
+a deep excavation around it in the countless years and generations that
+they had herded here.&nbsp; The &ldquo;lick,&rdquo; as such places are
+called in Tennessee, was nearly two acres in extent, and in the centre
+of the depression the brackish water stood to the depth of six feet
+or more.&nbsp; Birt looked down at it, thinking of the old times when,
+according to tradition, it was the stamping ground of buffalo as well
+as deer.&nbsp; The dusk deepened.&nbsp; The shadows were skulking in
+and out of the wild ravine as the wind rose and fell.&nbsp; They took
+to his fancy the form of herds of the banished bison, revisiting in
+this impalpable guise the sylvan shades where they are but a memory
+now.<br/>
+<br/>
+Presently he began the rugged descent, considerably hampered by the
+fox, which he carried by the tail.&nbsp; He stopped to rest whenever
+he found a ledge that would serve as a seat.&nbsp; Looking up, high
+above the jagged summit of the cliff that sharply serrated the zenith,
+he saw the earliest star, glorious in the crimson and amber sky.&nbsp;
+Below, a point of silver light quivered, reflected in the crimson and
+amber waters of the &ldquo;lick.&rdquo;&nbsp; The fire-flies were flickering
+among the ferns; he saw about him their errant gleam.&nbsp; The shadowy
+herds trooped down the mountain side.<br/>
+<br/>
+Now and then his weight uprooted a bush in his hands, and the clods
+fell.&nbsp; He missed his footing as he neared the base, and came down
+with a thump.&nbsp; It was a gravelly spot where he had fallen, and
+he saw in a moment that it was the summer-dried channel of a mountain
+rill.&nbsp; As he pulled himself up on one elbow, he suddenly paused
+with dilated eyes.&nbsp; The evening light fell upon a burnished glimmer;
+- a bit of stone - was it stone? - shining with a metallic lustre.<br/>
+<br/>
+He looked at it for a moment, his eyes glowing in the contemplation
+of a splendid possibility.<br/>
+<br/>
+What were those old stories that his father used to tell of the gold
+excitement in Tennessee in 1831, when the rich earth flung largess from
+its hidden wealth along the romantic banks of Coca Creek!&nbsp; Gold
+had been found in Tennessee - why not here?&nbsp; And once - why not
+again?<br/>
+<br/>
+The idea so possessed him that while he was skinning the fox his sharp
+knife almost sacrificed one of the <i>two</i> ears imperatively required
+by the statute, in order that the wily hunter may not be tempted to
+present one ear at a time, thus multiplying red foxes and premiums therefor
+like Falstaff&rsquo;s &ldquo;rogues in buckram.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He took his way homeward through the darkening woods, carrying the pelt
+in his hand.&nbsp; It was not long before he could hear the dogs barking,
+and as he came suddenly upon a little clearing in the midst of the dense,
+encompassing wilderness, he saw them all trooping down from the unenclosed
+passage between the two log-rooms which constituted the house.&nbsp;
+An old hound had half climbed the fence, but as he laid his fore-paw
+on the topmost rail, his deep-mouthed bay was hushed, - he was recognizing
+the approaching step of his master.&nbsp; The yellow curs were still
+insisting upon a marauder theory.&nbsp; One of them barked defiance
+as he thrust his head between the rails of the fence.&nbsp; There was
+another head thrust through too, about on a level with Towser&rsquo;s,
+but it was not a dog&rsquo;s head.&nbsp; As Birt caught a glimpse of
+it, he called out hastily, &ldquo;Stand back thar, Tennessee!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+And then it was lost to view, for at the sound of his voice all the
+dogs came huddling over the bars, shrilly yelping a tumultuous welcome.<br/>
+<br/>
+When Birt had vaulted over the fence, the little object withdrew its
+head from between the rails and came trotting along beside him, holding
+up its hand to clasp his.<br/>
+<br/>
+His mother, standing in the passage, her tall, thin figure distinct
+in the firelight that came flickering out through the open door, soliloquized
+querulously: -<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ef that thar child don&rsquo;t quit that fool way o&rsquo; stickin&rsquo;
+her head a-twixt the rails ter watch fur her brother, she&rsquo;ll git
+cotched thar some day like a peeg in a pen, an&rsquo; git her neck bruk.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt overheard her.&nbsp; &ldquo;Tennessee air too peart ter git herself
+hurt,&rdquo; he said, a trifle ashamed of his ready championship of
+his little sister, as a big rough boy is apt to be of gentler emotions.<br/>
+<br/>
+If ever infancy can be deemed uncouth, she was an uncouth little atom
+of humanity.&nbsp; Her blue checked homespun dress, graced with big
+horn buttons, descended almost to her feet.&nbsp; Her straight, awkwardly
+cropped hair was of a nondescript shade pleasantly called &ldquo;tow.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+As she came into the light of the fire, she lifted wide black eyes deprecatingly
+to her mother.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;She ain&rsquo;t pretty, I know, but she air powerful peart,&rdquo;
+Birt used to say so often that the phrase became a formula with him.<br/>
+<br/>
+If she were &ldquo;powerful peart,&rdquo; it was a fact readily apparent
+only to him, for she was a silent child, with the single marked characteristic
+of great affection for her eldest brother and a singular pertinacity
+in following him about.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I dunno &rsquo;bout Tennie&rsquo;s peartness,&rdquo; his mother
+sarcastically rejoined.&nbsp; &ldquo;&lsquo;Pears ter me like the chile
+hain&rsquo;t never hed good sense; afore she could walk she&rsquo;d
+crawl along the floor arter ye, an&rsquo; holler like a squeech-ow<i>el</i>
+ef ye went off an&rsquo; lef&rsquo; her.&nbsp; An&rsquo; ye air plumb
+teched in the head too, Birt, ter set sech store by Tennie.&nbsp; I
+look ter see her killed, or stunted, some day, in them travels o&rsquo;
+hern.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+For when Birt Dicey went &ldquo;yerrands&rdquo; on the mule through
+the woods to the Settlement, Tennessee often rode on the pommel of his
+saddle.&nbsp; She followed in the furrow when he ploughed.&nbsp; She
+was as familiar an object at the tanyard as the bark-mill itself.&nbsp;
+When he wielded the axe, she perched on one end of the woodpile.&nbsp;
+But so far, she had passed safely through her varied adventures, and
+gratifying evidences of her growth were registered on the door.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Stand back thar, Tennessee!&rdquo; in a loud, boyish halloo,
+was a command when danger was ahead, which she obeyed with the readiness
+of a veteran.<br/>
+<br/>
+Sometimes, however, this incongruous companionship became irksome to
+him.&nbsp; Her trusting, insistent affection made her a clog upon him,
+and he grew impatient of it.<br/>
+<br/>
+Ah, little Sister! he learned its value one day.<br/>
+<br/>
+The great wood fire was all aflare in the deep chimney-place.&nbsp;
+Savory odors came from the gridiron and the skillet and the hoe, on
+the live coals drawn out on the broad hearth.&nbsp; The tow-headed children
+grew noisy as they assembled around the bare pine table, and began to
+clash their knives and forks.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, unmindful, crouched by the hearth, silently turning his precious
+specimens about, that he might examine them by the firelight.&nbsp;
+Tennessee, her chuffy hand on his shoulder, for she could reach it as
+he knelt, held her head close to his, and looked at them too with wide
+black eyes.&nbsp; His mother placed the supper on the table, and twice
+she called to him to come, but he did not hear.&nbsp; She turned and
+looked down at him, then broke out sharply in indignant surprise.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Air ye bereft o&rsquo; reason, Birt Dicey!&nbsp; Ye set thar
+nosin&rsquo; a handful o&rsquo; rocks ez ef they war fitten ter eat!&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; now look at the boy - a stuffin&rsquo; &rsquo;em in his pockets
+ter sag &rsquo;em down and tear &rsquo;em out fur me ter sew in ag&rsquo;in.&nbsp;
+Waal, waal!&nbsp; Sol&rsquo;mon say ef ye spare the rod ye spile the
+child - mos&rsquo; ennybody could hev fund that out from thar own &rsquo;sperience;
+but the wisest man that ever lived lef&rsquo; no receipt how ter keep
+a boy&rsquo;s pockets whole in his breeches.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER II.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt Dicey lay awake deep into the night, pondering and planning.&nbsp;
+But despite this unwonted vigil the old bark-mill was early astir, and
+he went alertly about his work.&nbsp; He felt eager, strong, capable.&nbsp;
+The spirit of progress was upon him.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanyard lay in the midst of a forest so dense that, except at the
+verge of the clearing, it showed hardly a trace of its gradual despoliation
+by the industry that nestled in its heart like a worm in the bud.&nbsp;
+There were many stumps about the margin of the woods, the felled trees,
+stripped of their bark, often lying among them still, for the supply
+of timber exceeded the need.&nbsp; In penetrating the wilderness you
+might mark, too, here and there, a vacant space, where the chestnut-oak,
+prized for its tannin, had once grown on the slope.<br/>
+<br/>
+A little log house was in the midst of the clearing.&nbsp; It had, properly
+speaking, only one room, but there was a shed-room attached, for the
+purpose of storage, and also a large open shed at one side.&nbsp; The
+rail fence inclosed the space of an acre, perhaps, which was covered
+with spent bark.&nbsp; Across the pits planks were laid, with heavy
+stones upon them to hold them in place.&nbsp; A rude roof sheltered
+the bark-mill from the weather, and there was the patient mule, with
+Birt and a whip to make sure that he did not fall into reflective pauses
+according to his meditative wont.&nbsp; And there, too, was Tennessee,
+perched on the lower edge of a great pile of bark, and gravely watching
+Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+He deprecated the attention she attracted.&nbsp; He was sometimes ashamed
+to have the persistent little sister seen following at his heels like
+a midday shadow.&nbsp; He could not know that the men who stopped and
+spoke to him and to her, and laughed at the infirmities of the infant
+tongue when she replied unintelligibly, thought better of him for his
+manifestation of strong fraternal affection.&nbsp; They said to each
+other that he was a &ldquo;peart boy an&rsquo; powerful good ter the
+t&rsquo;other chill&rsquo;en, an&rsquo; holped the fambly along ez well
+ez a man - better&rsquo;n thar dad ever done;&rdquo; for Birt&rsquo;s
+father had been characterized always as &ldquo;slack-twisted an&rsquo;
+onlucky.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The shadows dwindled on the tan.&nbsp; The winds had furled their wings.&nbsp;
+White clouds rose, dazzling, opaque, up to the blue zenith.&nbsp; The
+querulous cicada complained in the laurel.&nbsp; Birt heard the call
+of a jay from the woods.&nbsp; And then, as he once more urged the old
+mule on, the busy bark-mill kept up such a whir that he could hear nothing
+else.&nbsp; He was not aware of an approach till the new-comer was close
+upon him; in fact, the first he knew of Nate Griggs&rsquo;s proximity
+was the sight of him.&nbsp; Nate was glancing about with his usual air
+of questioning disparagement, and cracking a long lash at the spent
+bark on the ground.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Hello, Nate!&rdquo; Birt cried out, eagerly.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+powerful glad ye happened ter kem hyar, fur I hev a word ter say ter
+ye.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I dunno ez I&rsquo;m minded ter bide,&rdquo; Nate said cavalierly.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I hates to waste time an&rsquo; burn daylight a-jowin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He was still cracking his lash at the ground.&nbsp; There was a sudden,
+half-articulate remonstrance.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, who had turned away to the bark-mill, whirled back in a rising
+passion.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Did ye hit Tennessee?&rdquo; he asked, with a dangerous light
+in his eyes.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;No - I never!&rdquo; Nate protested.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hain&rsquo;t
+seen her till this minute.&nbsp; She war standin&rsquo; a-hint ye.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, ye skeered her, then,&rdquo; said Birt, hardly appeased.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Quit snappin&rsquo; that lash.&nbsp; &rsquo;Pears-like ter me
+ez ye makes yerself powerful free round this hyar tanyard.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tennie air a-growin&rsquo; wonderful fast,&rdquo; the sly Nathan
+remarked pleasantly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt softened instantly.&nbsp; &ldquo;She air a haffen inch higher &rsquo;n
+she war las&rsquo; March, &rsquo;cordin&rsquo; ter the mark on the door,&rdquo;
+he declared, pridefully.&nbsp; &ldquo;She ain&rsquo;t pretty, I know,
+but she air powerful peart.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What war the word ez ye war layin&rsquo; off ter say ter me?&rdquo;
+Nate asked, curiosity vividly expressed in his face.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt leaned back against the pile of bark and hesitated.&nbsp; Last
+night he had thought Nate the most desirable person to whom he could
+confide his secret whose aid he could secure.&nbsp; There were many
+circumstances that made this seem wise.&nbsp; But when the disclosure
+was imminent, something in those small, bead-like eyes, unpleasantly
+close together, something in the expression of the thin, pale face,
+something in Nate&rsquo;s voice and manner repelled confidence.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Nate,&rdquo; said Birt, at last, speaking with that subacute
+conviction, so strong yet so ill-defined, which vividly warns the ill-judged
+and yet cannot stop the tongue constrained by its own folly, &ldquo;what
+d&rsquo;ye s&rsquo;pose I fund in the woods yestiddy?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The two small eyes, set close together, seemed merged in one, so concentrated
+was their gaze.&nbsp; Again their expression struck Birt&rsquo;s attention.&nbsp;
+He hesitated once more.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ef I tell ye, will ye promise never
+ter tell enny livin&rsquo; human critter?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I hope I may drap stone dead ef I ever tell!&rdquo; Nate exclaimed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I fund a strange metal in the woods yestiddy.&nbsp; What d&rsquo;ye
+s&rsquo;pose &rsquo;t war?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate shook his head.&nbsp; His breath was quick and he could not control
+the keen anxiety in his face.&nbsp; A strong flush rose to the roots
+of his sandy hair, his lips quivered, and his small eyes glittered with
+greedy expectation.&nbsp; His tongue refused to frame a word.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>Gold</i>!&rdquo; cried Birt, triumphantly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar be it?&rdquo; exclaimed Nate.&nbsp; He was about to start
+in full run for the spot.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t agoin&rsquo; ter tell ye, without we-uns kin strike
+a trade.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal,&rdquo; said Nate, with difficulty repressing his impatience,
+&ldquo;what air you-uns aimin&rsquo; ter do?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye knows ez I hev ter bide hyar with the bark-mill mos&rsquo;ly,
+jes&rsquo; now,&rdquo; said Birt, beginning to expound the series of
+ideas which he had carefully worked out in his midnight vigil, &ldquo;&lsquo;kase
+they hev got ter hev a heap o&rsquo; tan ter fill them thar vats ag&rsquo;in.&nbsp;
+Ef I war ter leave an&rsquo; go a-gold huntin&rsquo;, the men on the
+mounting would find out what I war arter, an&rsquo; they&rsquo;d come
+a-grabblin&rsquo; thar too, an&rsquo; mebbe git it all, &rsquo;kase
+I dunno how much or how leetle thar be.&nbsp; I wants ter make sure
+of enough ter buy a horse, or a mule, or su&rsquo;thin&rsquo;, ef I
+kin, &rsquo;fore I tells ennybody else.&nbsp; An&rsquo; I &rsquo;lowed
+ez ye an&rsquo; me would go pardners.&nbsp; Ye&rsquo;d take my place
+hyar at the tanyard one day, whilst I dug, an&rsquo; I&rsquo;d bide
+in the tanyard nex&rsquo; day.&nbsp; An&rsquo; we would divide fair
+an&rsquo; even all we fund.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate did not reply.&nbsp; He was absorbed in a project that had come
+into his head as his friend talked, and the two dissimilar trains of
+thought combined in a mental mosaic that would have amazed Birt Dicey.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye see,&rdquo; Birt presently continued, &ldquo;I dunno when
+I kin git shet o&rsquo; the tanyard this year.&nbsp; Old Jube Perkins
+&rsquo;lows ez he air mighty busy &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n them hides an&rsquo;
+sech, an&rsquo; he wants me ter holp around ginerally.&nbsp; He say
+ef I do mo&rsquo; work&rsquo;n I owes him, he&rsquo;ll make that straight
+with my mother.&nbsp; An&rsquo; he declares fur true ef I don&rsquo;t
+holp him at this junctry, when he needs me, he won&rsquo;t hire his
+mule to my mother nex&rsquo; spring; an&rsquo; ye know it won&rsquo;t
+do fur we-uns ter resk the corn-crap an&rsquo; gyarden truck with sech
+a pack o&rsquo; chill&rsquo;n ter vittle ez we-uns hev got at our house.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate deduced an unexpected conclusion.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye oughter gin me
+more&rsquo;n haffen the make,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;&lsquo;Kase
+ef &rsquo;twarn&rsquo;t fur me, ye couldn&rsquo;t git none.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+ef ye don&rsquo;t say two thurds, I&rsquo;ll tell every critter on the
+mounting an&rsquo; they&rsquo;ll be grabblin&rsquo; in yer gold mine
+d&rsquo;rec&rsquo;ly.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye dunno whar it is,&rdquo; said Birt, quietly.<br/>
+<br/>
+If a sudden jet from the cold mountain torrent, that rioted through
+the wilderness down the ravine hard by, had been dashed into Nate&rsquo;s
+thin, sharp face, he could not have cooled more abruptly.&nbsp; The
+change almost took his breath away.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean <i>that</i>, nuther,&rdquo; he gasped with
+politic penitence, &ldquo;kase I hev promised not ter tell.&nbsp; I
+dunno whether I kin holp nohow.&nbsp; I hev got ter do my sheer o&rsquo;
+work at home; we ain&rsquo;t through pullin&rsquo; fodder off&rsquo;n
+our late corn yit.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt looked at him in silent surprise.<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate was older than his friend by several years.&nbsp; He was of an
+unruly and insubordinate temper, and did as little work as he pleased
+at home.&nbsp; He often remarked that he would like to see who could
+make him do what he had no mind to do.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Mebbe old Jube wouldn&rsquo;t want me round &rsquo;bout,&rdquo;
+he suggested.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal,&rdquo; said Birt, eager again to detail his plans, &ldquo;he
+&rsquo;lowed when I axed him this mornin&rsquo; ez he&rsquo;d be willin&rsquo;
+ef I could trade with another boy ter take my place wunst in a while.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate affected to meditate on this view of the question.&nbsp; &ldquo;But
+it will be toler&rsquo;ble fur away fur me ter go prowlin&rsquo; in
+the woods, a-huntin&rsquo; fur gold, an&rsquo; our fodder jes&rsquo;
+a-sufferin&rsquo; ter be pulled.&nbsp; Ef the spot air fur off, I can&rsquo;t
+come an&rsquo; I won&rsquo;t, not fur haffen the make.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;T ain&rsquo;t fur off at all - scant haffen mile,&rdquo;
+replied unwary Birt, anxious to convince.&nbsp; &ldquo;It air jes&rsquo;
+yander nigh that thar salt lick down the ravine.&nbsp; I marks the spot
+by a bowlder - biggest bowlder I ever see - on the slope o&rsquo; the
+mounting.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The instant this revelation passed his lips, regret seized him.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;But ye ain&rsquo;t ter go thar &rsquo;thout me, ye onderstand,
+till we begins our work.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t wantin&rsquo; ter go,&rdquo; Nate protested.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t sati&rsquo;fied in my mind whether I&rsquo;ll ondertake
+ter holp or no.&nbsp; That pullin&rsquo; fodder ez I hev got ter do
+sets mighty heavy on my stomach.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tim an&rsquo; yer dad <i>always</i> pulls the fodder an&rsquo;
+sech - I knows ez that air a true word,&rdquo; said Birt, bluntly.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; I can&rsquo;t git away from the tanyard at all ef ye
+won&rsquo;t holp me, &rsquo;kase old Jube &rsquo;lowed he wouldn&rsquo;t
+let me swop with a smaller boy ter work hyar; an&rsquo; all them my
+size, an&rsquo; bigger, air made ter work with thar dads, &rsquo;ceptin&rsquo;
+you-uns.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate heard, but he hardly looked as if he did, so busily absorbed was
+he in fitting this fragment of fact into his mental mosaic.&nbsp; It
+had begun to assume the proportions of a distinct design.<br/>
+<br/>
+He suddenly asked a question of apparent irrelevancy.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;This hyar land down the ravine don&rsquo;t b&rsquo;long ter yer
+folkses - who do it b&rsquo;long ter?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t b&rsquo;long ter nobody, ye weasel!&rdquo; Birt retorted,
+in rising wrath.&nbsp; &ldquo;D&rsquo;ye s&rsquo;pose I&rsquo;d be a-stealin&rsquo;
+of gold off&rsquo;n somebody else&rsquo;s land?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate&rsquo;s sly, thin face lighted up wonderfully.&nbsp; He seemed
+in a fever of haste to terminate the conference and get away.&nbsp;
+He agreed to his friend&rsquo;s proposition and promised to be at the
+bark-mill bright and early in the morning.&nbsp; As he trudged off,
+Birt Dicey stood watching the receding figure.&nbsp; His eyes were perplexed,
+his mind full of anxious foreboding.&nbsp; He hardly knew what he feared.&nbsp;
+He had only a vague sense of mischief in the air, as slight but as unmistakable
+as the harbinger of storm on a sunshiny summer day.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I wisht I hedn&rsquo;t tole him nuthin&rsquo;,&rdquo; he said,
+as he wended his way home that night.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ef my mother hed
+knowed bout&rsquo;n it all, I wouldn&rsquo;t hev been &rsquo;lowed ter
+tell him.&nbsp; She <i>de</i>spises the very sight o&rsquo; this hyar
+Nate Griggs - an&rsquo; yit she say she dunno why.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+After supper he sat gloomy and taciturn in the uninclosed passage between
+the two rooms, watching alternately the fire-flies, as they instarred
+the dark woods with ever-shifting gold sparks, and the broad, pale flashes
+of heat lightning which from time to time illumined the horizon.&nbsp;
+There was no motion in the heavy black foliage, but it was filled with
+the shrill droning of the summer insects, and high in the branches a
+screech-owl pierced the air with its keen, quavering scream.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tennessee!&rdquo; exclaimed Birt, as the unwelcome sound fell
+upon his ear - &rdquo;Tennessee! run an&rsquo; put the shovel in the
+fire!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Whether the shovel, becoming hot among the live coals, burned the owl
+that was high in the tree-top outside, according to the countryside
+superstition, or whether by a singular coincidence, he discovered that
+he had business elsewhere, he was soon gone, and the night was left
+to the chorusing katydids and tree-toads and to the weird, fitful illuminations
+of the noiseless heat lightning.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt Dicey rose suddenly and walked away silently into the dense, dark
+woods.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Stop, Tennessee! ye can&rsquo;t go too!&rdquo; exclaimed Mrs.
+Dicey, appearing in the doorway just in time to intercept the juvenile
+excursionist.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ketch her, Rufus!&nbsp; Ef she wouldn&rsquo;t
+hev followed Birt right off in the pitch dark!&nbsp; She ain&rsquo;t
+afeared o&rsquo; nothin&rsquo; when Birt is thar.&nbsp; Git that pomegranate
+she hed an&rsquo; gin it ter her ter keep her from hollerin&rsquo;,
+Rufe; I hed a sight ruther hear the squeech-ow<i>el</i>.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Tennessee, overpowered by disappointment, sobbed herself to sleep upon
+the floor, and then ensued an interval of quiet.&nbsp; Rufe, a towheaded
+boy of ten, dressed in an unbleached cotton shirt and blue-checked homespun
+trousers, concluded that this moment was the accepted time to count
+the balls in his brother&rsquo;s shot-pouch.&nbsp; This he proceeded
+to do, with the aid of the sullen glare from the embers within and the
+fluctuating gleams of the lightning without.&nbsp; There was no pretense
+of utility in Rufe&rsquo;s performance; only the love of handling lead
+could explain it.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye hed better mind,&rdquo; his mother admonished him.&nbsp; &ldquo;Birt
+war powerful tried the t&rsquo;other day ter think what hed gone with
+his bullets.&nbsp; He&rsquo;ll nose ye out afore long.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;They hev got sech a fool way o&rsquo; slippin&rsquo; through
+the chinks in the floor,&rdquo; said the boy in exasperation.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I never seen the beat!&nbsp; An&rsquo; thar&rsquo;s no gittin&rsquo;
+them out, nuther.&nbsp; I snaked under the house yestiddy an&rsquo;
+sarched, an&rsquo; sarched! - an&rsquo; I never fund but two.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; Towse, he dragged hisself under thar, too - jes&rsquo; a-growlin&rsquo;
+an&rsquo; a-snappin&rsquo;.&nbsp; I thought fur sartin every minit he&rsquo;d
+bite my foot off.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He resumed his self-imposed task of counting the rifle balls, and now
+and then a sharp click told that another was consigned to that limbo
+guarded by Towse.&nbsp; Mrs. Dicey stood in silence for a time, gazing
+upon the unutterably gloomy forest, the distant, throbbing stars, and
+the broad, wan flashes at long intervals gleaming through the sky.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;It puts me in a mighty tucker ter hev yer brother a-settin&rsquo;
+out through the woods this hyar way, an&rsquo; a-leavin&rsquo; of we-uns
+hyar, all by ourselves sech a dark night.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m always afeared
+thar mought be a bar a-prowlin&rsquo; round.&nbsp; An&rsquo; the cornfield
+air close ter the house, too.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Pete Thompson - him ez war yander ter the tanyard day &rsquo;fore
+yestiddy with his dad,&rdquo; said the boy, &ldquo;he tole it ter me
+ez how he seen a bar las&rsquo; Wednesday a-climbin&rsquo; over the
+fence ter thar cornfield, with a haffen dozen roastin&rsquo;-ears under
+his arm an&rsquo; a watermillion on his head.&nbsp; But <i>war</i> it
+a haffen dozen?&nbsp; I furgits now ef Pete said it war a haffen dozen
+or nine ears of corn the bar hed;&rdquo; and he paused to reflect in
+the midst of his important occupation.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be bound Pete never stopped ter count &rsquo;em,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Dicey.&nbsp; &ldquo;Pick that chile up an&rsquo; come in.&nbsp;
+I&rsquo;m goin&rsquo; ter bar up the door.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt Dicey plodded away through the deep woods and the dense darkness
+down the ravine.&nbsp; Although he could not now distinguish one stone
+from another, he had an uncontrollable impulse to visit again the treasure
+he had discovered.&nbsp; The murmur of the gently bubbling water warned
+him of the proximity of the deep salt spring almost at the base of the
+mountain, and, guiding himself partly by the sound, he made his way
+along the slope to the great bowlder beneath the cliffs that served
+to mark the spot.&nbsp; As he laid his hand on the bowlder, he experienced
+a wonderful exhilaration of spirit.&nbsp; Once more he canvassed his
+scheme.&nbsp; This was the one great opportunity of his restricted life.&nbsp;
+Visions of future possibilities were opening wide their fascinating
+vistas.&nbsp; He might make enough to buy a horse, and this expressed
+his idea of wealth.&nbsp; &ldquo;But ef I live ter git a cent out&rsquo;n
+it,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take the very fust
+money I kin call my own an&rsquo; buy Tennessee a chany cup an&rsquo;
+sarcer, an&rsquo; a string o&rsquo; blue beads an&rsquo; a caliky coat
+- ef I die fur it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+His pleased reverie was broken by a sudden discovery.&nbsp; He was not
+standing among stones about the great bowlder; no - his foot had sunk
+deep in the sand!&nbsp; He stooped down in the darkness and felt about
+him.&nbsp; The spot was not now as he had left it yesterday afternoon.&nbsp;
+He was sure of this, even before a fleet, wan flash of the heat lightning
+showed him at his feet the unmistakable signs of a recent excavation.&nbsp;
+It was not deep, it was not broad; but it was fresh and it betrayed
+a prying hand.&nbsp; Again the heat lightning illumined the wide, vague
+sky.&nbsp; He saw the solemn dark forests; he saw the steely glimmer
+of the lick; the distant mountains flickered against the pallid horizon;
+and once more - densest gloom.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER III.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was Nate who had been here, - Birt felt sure of that; Nate, who had
+promised he would not come.<br/>
+<br/>
+Convinced that his friend was playing a false part, Birt went at once
+to the bark-mill in the morning, confident that he would not find Nate
+at work in the tanyard according to their agreement.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was later than usual, and Jubal Perkins swore at Birt for his tardiness.&nbsp;
+He hardly heard; and as the old bark-mill ground and ground the bark,
+and the mule jogged around and around, and the hot sun shone, and the
+voices of the men handling the hides at the tanpit were loud on the
+air, all his thoughts were of the cool, dark, sequestered ravine, holding
+in its cloven heart the secret he had discovered.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufus happened to come to the tanyard today.&nbsp; Birt seized the opportunity.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Rufe,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;ye see I can&rsquo;t git away from
+the mill, &rsquo;kase I&rsquo;m &rsquo;bleeged ter stay hyar whilst
+the old mule grinds.&nbsp; But ef ye&rsquo;ll go over yander ter Nate
+Griggs&rsquo;s house an&rsquo; tell him ter come over hyar, bein&rsquo;
+ez I want to see him partic&rsquo;lar, I&rsquo;ll fix ye a squir&rsquo;l-trap
+before long ez the peartest old Bushy-tail on the mounting ain&rsquo;t
+got the gumption ter git out&rsquo;n.&nbsp; An&rsquo; let me know ef
+Nate ain&rsquo;t thar.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe was disposed to parley.&nbsp; He stood first on one foot, then
+on the other.&nbsp; He cast calculating eyes at the bark-mill and out
+upon the deep forest.&nbsp; The exact date on which this promise was
+to be fulfilled had to be fixed before he announced his willingness
+to set out.<br/>
+<br/>
+Ten to one, he would have gone without the bribe, had none been suggested,
+for he loved the woods better than the woodpile, and a five-mile tramp
+through its tangles wearied his bones not so much as picking up a single
+basketful of chips.&nbsp; Some boys&rsquo; bones are constituted thus,
+strange as it may seem.<br/>
+<br/>
+So he went his way in his somewhat eccentric gait, compounded of a hop,
+and a skip, and a dawdle.&nbsp; He had made about half a mile when the
+path curved to the mountain&rsquo;s brink.&nbsp; He paused and parted
+the glossy leaves of the dense laurel that he might look out over the
+precipice at the distant heights.&nbsp; How blue - how softly blue they
+were! - the endless ranges about the horizon.&nbsp; What a golden haze
+melted on those nearer at hand, bravely green in the sunshine!&nbsp;
+From among the beetling crags, the first red leaf was whirling away
+against the azure sky.&nbsp; Even a buzzard had its picturesque aspects,
+circling high above the mountains in its strong, majestic flight.&nbsp;
+To breathe the balsamic, sunlit air was luxury, happiness; it was a
+wonder that Rufe got on as fast as he did.&nbsp; How fragrant and cool
+and dark was the shadowy valley!&nbsp; A silver cloud lay deep in the
+waters of the &ldquo;lick.&rdquo;&nbsp; Why Rufe made up his mind to
+go down there, he could hardly have said - sheer curiosity, perhaps.&nbsp;
+He knew he had plenty of time to get to Nate&rsquo;s house and back
+before dark.&nbsp; People who sent Rufe on errands usually reckoned
+for two hours&rsquo; waste in each direction.&nbsp; He had no idea of
+descending the cliffs as Birt had done.&nbsp; He stolidly retraced his
+way until he was nearly home; then scrambling down rocky slopes he came
+presently upon a deer-path.&nbsp; All at once, he noticed the footprint
+of a man in a dank, marshy spot.&nbsp; He stopped and looked hard at
+it, for he had naturally supposed this path was used only by the woodland
+gentry.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Some deer-hunter, I reckon,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; And so he went
+on.<br/>
+<br/>
+With his characteristic curiosity, he peered all around the &ldquo;lick&rdquo;
+when he was at last there.&nbsp; He even applied his tongue, calf-like,
+to the briny earth; it did not taste so salty as he had expected.&nbsp;
+As he rolled over luxuriously on his back among the fragrant summer
+weeds, he caught sight of something in the branches of an oak tree.&nbsp;
+He sat up and stared.&nbsp; It looked like a rude platform.&nbsp; After
+a moment, he divined that it was the remnant of a scaffold from which
+some early settler of Tennessee had been wont to fire upon the deer
+or the buffalo at the &ldquo;lick,&rdquo; below.&nbsp; Such relics,
+some of them a century old, are to be seen to this day in sequestered
+nooks of the Cumberland Mountains.&nbsp; Rufe had heard of these old
+scaffolds, but he had never known of the existence of this one down
+by the &ldquo;lick.&rdquo;&nbsp; He sprang up, a flush of excitement
+contending with the dirt on his countenance; he set his squirrel teeth
+resolutely together; he applied his sturdy fingers and his nimble legs
+to the bark of the tree, and up he went like a cat.<br/>
+<br/>
+He climbed to the lower branches easily enough, but he caused much commotion
+and swaying among them as he struggled through the foliage.&nbsp; An
+owl, with great remonstrant eyes, suddenly looked out of a hollow, higher
+still, with an inarticulate mutter of mingled reproach, and warning,
+and anxiety.&nbsp; Rufe settled himself on the platform, his bare feet
+dangling about jocosely.&nbsp; Then, beating his hands on either thigh
+to mark the time he sang in a loud, shrill soprano, prone now and then
+to be flat, and yet, impartially, prone now and then to be sharp: -<br/>
+<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thar war two sun-dogs in the red day-dawn,<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;An&rsquo; the wind war laid - &rsquo;t
+war prime fur game.<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I went ter the woods betimes that morn,<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;An&rsquo; tuk my flint-lock, &ldquo;Nancy,&rdquo;
+by name;<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;An&rsquo; thar I see,
+in the crotch of a tree,<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A great big catamount
+grinnin&rsquo; at me.<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A-kee! he! he! An&rsquo;
+a-ho! ho! he!<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A pop-eyed catamount
+laffin&rsquo; at me!<br/>
+<br/>
+And, as Rufe sang, the anger and remonstrance in the owl&rsquo;s demeanor
+increased every moment.&nbsp; For the owl was a vocalist, too!<br/>
+<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bein&rsquo; made game of by a brute beastis,<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;War su&rsquo;thin&rsquo; I could
+in no ways allow.<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I jes&rsquo; spoke up, for my dander hed riz,<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Cat - take in the slack o&rsquo;
+yer jaw!&rdquo;<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He bowed his back - Nance sighted him gran&rsquo;,<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then the blamed old gal jes&rsquo; flashed in the
+pan!<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A-kee! he! he! An&rsquo; a-ho! ho! he!<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a outraged catamount rebukin&rsquo; of me!<br/>
+<br/>
+As Rufe finished this with a mighty <i>crescendo</i>, he was obliged
+to pause for breath.&nbsp; He stared about, gaspily.&nbsp; The afternoon
+was waning.&nbsp; The mountains close at hand were a darker green.&nbsp;
+The distant ranges had assumed a rosy amethystine tint, like nothing
+earthly - like the mountains of a dream, perhaps.&nbsp; The buzzard
+had alighted in the top of a tree not far down the slope, a tree long
+ago lightning-scathed, but still rising, gaunt and scarred, above all
+the forest, and stretching dead stark arms to heaven.&nbsp; Somehow
+Rufe did not like the looks of it.&nbsp; He was aware of a revulsion
+of feeling, of the ebbing away of his merry spirit before he saw more.<br/>
+<br/>
+As he tried to sing: -<br/>
+<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I war the mightiest hunter that ever ye see<br/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Till that thar catamount tuk arter me! -<br/>
+<br/>
+his tongue clove suddenly to the roof of his mouth.<br/>
+<br/>
+He could see something under that tree which no one else could see,
+not even from the summit of the crags, for the tree was beyond a projecting
+slope, and out of the range of vision thence.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe could not make out distinctly what the object was, but it was evidently
+foreign to the place.&nbsp; He possessed the universal human weakness
+of regarding everything with a personal application.&nbsp; It now seemed
+strange to him that he should have come here at all; stranger still,
+that he should have mounted this queer relic of days so long gone by,
+and thus discovered that peculiar object under the dead tree.&nbsp;
+He began to think he had been led here for a purpose.&nbsp; Now Rufe
+was not so good a boy as to be on the continual lookout for rewards
+of merit.&nbsp; On the contrary, the day of reckoning meant with him
+the day of punishment.&nbsp; He had heard recounted an unpleasant superstition
+that when the red sunsets were flaming round the western mountains,
+and the valleys were dark and drear, and the abysses and gorges gloomed
+full of witches and weird spirits, Satan himself might be descried,
+walking the crags, and spitting fire, and deporting himself generally
+in such a manner as to cause great apprehension to a small person who
+could remember so many sins as Rufe could.&nbsp; His sins! they trooped
+up before his mental vision now, and in a dense convocation crowded
+the encompassing wilderness.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe felt that he must not leave this matter in uncertainty.&nbsp; He
+must know whether that strange object under the tree could be intended
+as a warning to him to cease in time his evil ways - tormenting Towse,
+pulling Tennessee&rsquo;s hair, shirking the woodpile, and squandering
+Birt&rsquo;s rifle balls.&nbsp; He even feared this might be a notification
+that the hour of retribution had already come!<br/>
+<br/>
+He scuttled off the platform, and began to swing himself from bough
+to bough.&nbsp; He was nervous and less expert than when he had climbed
+up the tree.&nbsp; He lost his grip once, and crashed from one branch
+to another, scratching himself handsomely in the operation.&nbsp; The
+owl, emboldened by his retreat, flew awkwardly down upon the scaffold,
+and perched there, its head turned askew, and its great, round eyes
+fixed solemnly upon him.<br/>
+<br/>
+Suddenly a wild hoot of derision rent the air; the echoes answered,
+and all the ravine was filled with the jeering clamor.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;The wust luck in the worl&rsquo;!&rdquo; plained poor Rufe, as
+the ill-omened cry rose again and again.&nbsp; &ldquo;&lsquo;Tain&rsquo;t
+goin&rsquo; ter s&rsquo;prise me none now, ef I gits my neck bruk along
+o&rsquo; this resky foolishness in this cur&rsquo;ous place whar ow<i>els</i>
+watch from the lookout ez dead men hev lef&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He came down unhurt, however.&nbsp; Then he sidled about a great many
+times through &ldquo;the laurel,&rdquo; for he could not muster courage
+for a direct approach to the strange object he had descried.&nbsp; The
+owl still watched him, and bobbed its head and hooted after him.&nbsp;
+When he drew near the lightning-scathed tree, he paused rooted to the
+spot, gazing in astonishment, his hat on the back of his tow head, his
+eyes opened wide, one finger inserted in his mouth in silent deprecation.<br/>
+<br/>
+For there stood a man dressed in black, and with a dark straw hat on
+his head.&nbsp; He had gray whiskers, and gleaming spectacles of a mildly
+surprised expression.&nbsp; He smiled kindly when he saw Rufe.&nbsp;
+Incongruously enough, he had a hammer in his hand.&nbsp; He was going
+down the ravine, tapping the rocks with it.&nbsp; And Rufe thought he
+looked for all the world like some over-grown, demented woodpecker.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER IV.<br/>
+<br/>
+As Rufe still stood staring, the old gentleman held out his hand with
+a cordial gesture.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Come here, my little man!&rdquo; he said in a kind voice.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe hesitated.&nbsp; Then he was seized by sudden distrust.&nbsp; Who
+was this stranger? and why did he call, &ldquo;Come here!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Perhaps the fears already uppermost in Rufe&rsquo;s mind influenced
+his hasty conclusion.&nbsp; He cast a horrified glance upon the old
+gentleman in black, a garb of suspicious color to the little mountaineer,
+who had never seen men clad in aught but the brown jeans habitually
+worn by the hunters of the range.&nbsp; He remembered, too, the words
+of an old song that chronicled how alluring were the invitations of
+Satan, and with a frenzied cry he fled frantically through the laurel.<br/>
+<br/>
+Away and away he dashed, up steep ascents, down sharp declivities, falling
+twice or thrice in his haste, but hurting his clothes more than himself.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was not long before he was in sight of home, and Towse met him at
+the fence.&nbsp; The feeling between these two was often the reverse
+of cordial, and as Rufe climbed down from rail to rail, his sullen &ldquo;Lemme
+&rsquo;lone, now!&rdquo; was answered by sundry snaps at his heels and
+a low growl.&nbsp; Not that Towse would really have harmed him - fealty
+to the family forbade that; but in defense of his ears and tail he thought
+it best to keep fierce possibilities in Rufe&rsquo;s contemplation.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe sat down on the floor of the uninclosed passage between the two
+rooms, his legs dangling over the sparse sprouts of chickweed and clumps
+of mullein that grew just beneath, for there were no steps, and Towse
+bounded up and sat upright close beside him.&nbsp; And as he sought
+to lean on Towse, the dog sought to lean on him.<br/>
+<br/>
+They both looked out meditatively at the dense and sombre wilderness,
+upon which this little clearing and humble log-cabin were but meagre
+suggestions of that strong, full-pulsed humanity that has elsewhere
+subdued nature, and achieved progress, and pre&euml;mpted perfection.<br/>
+<br/>
+Towse soon shut his eyes, and presently he was nodding.&nbsp; Presumably
+he dreamed, for once he roused himself to snap at a fly, when there
+was no fly.&nbsp; Rufe, however, was wide awake, and busily canvassing
+how to account to Birt for the lack of a message from Nate Griggs, for
+he would not confess how untrustworthy he had proved himself.&nbsp;
+As he reflected upon this perplexity, he leaned his throbbing head on
+his hand, and his attitude expressed a downcast spirit.<br/>
+<br/>
+This chanced to strike his mother&rsquo;s attention as she came to the
+door.&nbsp; She paused and looked keenly at him.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Them hoss apples ag&rsquo;in!&rdquo; she exclaimed, with the
+voice of accusation.&nbsp; She had no idea of youthful dejection disconnected
+with the colic.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe was roused to defend himself.&nbsp; &ldquo;Hain&rsquo;t teched
+&rsquo;em, now!&rdquo; he cried, acrimoniously.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, sometimes ye air sorter loose-jointed in yer jaw, an&rsquo;
+ain&rsquo;t partic&rsquo;lar what ye say,&rdquo; rejoined his mother,
+politely.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll waste a leetle yerb-tea on ye, ennyhow.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+She started back into the room, and Rufe rose at once.&nbsp; This cruelty
+should not be practiced upon him, whatever might betide him at the tanyard.&nbsp;
+He set out at a brisk pace.&nbsp; He had no mind to be long alone in
+the woods since his strange adventure down the ravine, or he might have
+hid in the underbrush, as he had often done, until other matters usurped
+his mother&rsquo;s medicinal intentions.<br/>
+<br/>
+When Rufe reached the tanyard, Birt was still at work.&nbsp; He turned
+and looked eagerly at the juvenile ambassador.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Did Nate gin ye a word fur me?&rdquo; he called sonorously, above
+the clamor of the noisy bark-mill.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He say he&rsquo;ll be hyar ter-morrer by sun-up!&rdquo; piped
+out Rufe, in a blatant treble.<br/>
+<br/>
+A lie seemed less reprehensible when he was obliged to labor so conscientiously
+to make it heard.<br/>
+<br/>
+And then compunction seized him.&nbsp; He sat down by Tennessee on a
+pile of bark, and took off his old wool hat to mop the cold perspiration
+that had started on his head and face.&nbsp; He felt sick, and sad,
+and extremely wicked, - a sorry contrast to Birt, who was so honest
+and reliable and, as his mother always said, &ldquo;ez stiddy ez the
+mounting.&rdquo;&nbsp; Birt was beginning to unharness the mule, for
+the day&rsquo;s work was at an end.<br/>
+<br/>
+The dusk had deepened to darkness.&nbsp; The woods were full of gloom.&nbsp;
+A timorous star palpitated in the sky.&nbsp; In the sudden stillness
+when the bark-mill ceased its whir, the mountain torrent hard by lifted
+a mystic chant.&nbsp; The drone of the katydid vibrated in the laurel,
+and the shrill-voiced cricket chirped.&nbsp; Two of the men were in
+the shed examining a green hide by the light of a perforated tin lantern,
+that seemed to spill the rays in glinting white rills.&nbsp; As they
+flickered across the pile of bark where Rufe and Tennessee were sitting,
+he noticed how alert Birt looked, how bright his eyes were.<br/>
+<br/>
+For Birt&rsquo;s hopes were suddenly renewed.&nbsp; He thought that
+some mischance had detained Nate to-day, and that he would come to-morrow
+to work at the bark-mill.<br/>
+<br/>
+The boy&rsquo;s blood tingled at the prospect of being free to seek
+for treasure down the ravine.&nbsp; He began to feel that he had been
+too quick to distrust his friend.&nbsp; Perhaps the stipulation that
+Nate should not go to the ravine until the work commenced was more than
+he ought to have asked.&nbsp; And perhaps, too, the trespasser was not
+Nate!&nbsp; The traces of shallow delving might have been left by another
+hand.&nbsp; Birt paused reflectively in unharnessing the mule.&nbsp;
+He stood with the gear in one hand, serious and anxious, in view of
+the possibility that this discovery was not his alone.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then he strove to cast aside the thought.&nbsp; He said to himself that
+he had been hasty in concluding that the slight excavation argued human
+presence in that lonely spot; a rock dislodged and rolling heavily down
+the gorge might have thus scraped into the sand and gravel; or perhaps
+some burrowing animal, prospecting for winter quarters, had begun to
+dig a hole under the bowlder.<br/>
+<br/>
+He was perplexed, despite his plausible reasoning, and he continued
+silent and preoccupied when he lifted Tennessee to his shoulder and
+trudged off homeward, with Rufe at his heels, and the small boy&rsquo;s
+conscience following sturdily in the rear.<br/>
+<br/>
+That sternly accusing conscience!&nbsp; Rufe was dismayed, when he sat
+with the other laughing children about the table, to know that his soul
+was not merry.&nbsp; Sometimes a sombre shadow fell upon his face, and
+once Birt asked him what was the matter.&nbsp; And though he laughed
+more than ever, he felt it was very hard to be gay without the subtle
+essence of mirth.&nbsp; That lie! - it seemed to grow; before supper
+was over it was as big as the warping-bars, and when they all sat in
+a semicircle in the open passage, Rufe felt that his conscience was
+the most prominent member of the party.&nbsp; The young moon sank; the
+night waxed darker still; the woods murmured mysteriously.&nbsp; And
+he was glad enough at last to be sent to bed, where after so long a
+time sleep found him.<br/>
+<br/>
+The morrow came in a cloud.&nbsp; The light lacked the sunshine.&nbsp;
+The listless air lacked the wind.&nbsp; Still and sombre, the woods
+touched the murky, motionless sky.&nbsp; All the universe seemed to
+hold a sullen pause.&nbsp; Time was afoot - it always is - but Birt
+might not know how it sped; no shadows on the spent tan this dark day!&nbsp;
+Over his shoulder he was forever glancing, hoping that Nate would presently
+appear from the woods.&nbsp; He saw only the mists lurking in the laurel;
+they had autumnal presage and a chill presence.&nbsp; He buttoned his
+coat about him, and the old mule sneezed as he jogged round the bark-mill.<br/>
+<br/>
+Jubal Perkins and a crony stood smoking much of the time to-day in the
+door of the house, looking idly out upon the brown stretch of spent
+bark, and the gray, weather-beaten sheds, and the dun sky, and the shadowy,
+mist-veiled woods.&nbsp; The tanner was a tall, muscular man, clad in
+brown jeans, and with boots of a fair grade of leather drawn high over
+his trousers.&nbsp; As he often remarked, &ldquo;The tanyard owes <i>me</i>
+good foot-gear - ef the rest o&rsquo; the mounting hev ter go barefoot.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The expression of his face was somewhat masked by a heavy grizzled beard,
+but from beneath the wide brim of his hat his eyes peered out with a
+jocose twinkle.&nbsp; His mouth seemed chiefly useful as a receptacle
+for his pipe-stem, for he spoke through his nose.&nbsp; His voice was
+strident on the air, since he included in the conversation a workman
+in the shed, who was scraping with a two-handled knife a hide spread
+on a wooden horse.&nbsp; This man, whose name was Andrew Byers, glanced
+up now and then, elevating a pair of shaggy eyebrows, and settled the
+affairs of the nation with diligence and despatch, little hindered by
+his labors or the distance.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt took no heed of the loud drawling talk.&nbsp; In moody silence
+he drove the mule around and around the bark-mill.&nbsp; The patient
+old animal, being in no danger of losing his way, closed his eyes drowsily
+as he trudged, making the best of it.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll git ez mild-mannered an&rsquo; meek-hearted ez this
+hyar old beastis, some day, ef things keep on ez disapp&rsquo;intin&rsquo;
+ez they hev been lately,&rdquo; thought Birt, miserably.&nbsp; &ldquo;They
+do say ez even he used ter be a turrible kicker.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Noon came and went, and still the mists hung in the forest closely engirdling
+the little clearing.&nbsp; The roofs glistened with moisture, and the
+eaves dripped.&nbsp; A crow was cawing somewhere.&nbsp; Birt had paused
+to let the mule rest, and the raucous sound caused him to turn his head.&nbsp;
+His heart gave a bound when he saw that on the other side of the fence
+the underbrush was astir along the path which wound through the woods
+to the tanyard.&nbsp; Somebody was coming; he hoped even yet that it
+might be Nate.&nbsp; He eagerly watched the rustling boughs.&nbsp; The
+crow had flown, but he heard as he waited a faint &ldquo;caw! caw!&rdquo;
+in the misty distance.&nbsp; Whoever the newcomer might be, he certainly
+loitered.&nbsp; At last the leaves parted, and revealed - Rufe.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s first sensation was renewed disappointment.&nbsp; Then
+he was disposed to investigate the mystery of Nate&rsquo;s non-appearance.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Hello, Rufe!&rdquo; he called out, as soon as the small boy was
+inside the tanyard, &ldquo;be you-uns <i>sure</i> ez Nate said he&rsquo;d
+come over by sun-up?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe halted and gazed about him, endeavoring to conjure an expression
+of surprise into his freckled face.&nbsp; He even opened his mouth to
+exhibit astonishment - exhibiting chiefly that equivocal tongue, and
+a large assortment of jagged squirrel teeth.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Hain&rsquo;t Nate come yit?&rdquo; he ventured.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner suddenly put into the conversation.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;War it Nate Griggs ez ye war aimin&rsquo; ter trade with ter
+take yer place wunst in a while in the tanyard?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt assented.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; he &rsquo;lowed he&rsquo;d be
+hyar ter-day by sun-up.&nbsp; Rufe brung that word from him yestiddy.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe&rsquo;s conscience had given him a recess, during which he had
+consumed several horse-apples in considerable complacence and a total
+disregard of &ldquo;yerb tea.&rdquo;&nbsp; He had climbed a tree, and
+sampled a green persimmon, and he endured with fortitude the pucker
+in his mouth, since it enabled him to make such faces at Towse as caused
+the dog to snap and growl in a frenzy of surprised indignation.&nbsp;
+He had fashioned a corn-stalk fiddle - that instrument so dear to rural
+children! - and he had been sawing away on it to his own satisfaction
+and Tennessee&rsquo;s unbounded admiration for the last half-hour.&nbsp;
+He had forgotten that pursuing conscience till it seized upon him again
+in the tanyard.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Oh, Birt,&rdquo; he quavered out, suddenly, &ldquo;I hain&rsquo;t
+laid eyes on Nate.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt exclaimed indignantly, and Jubal Perkins laughed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I seen sech a cur&rsquo;ous lookin&rsquo; man, down in the ravine
+by the lick, ez it sot me all catawampus!&rdquo; continued Rufe.<br/>
+<br/>
+As he told of his defection, and the falsehood with which he had accounted
+for it, Jubal Perkins came to a sudden decision.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Git on that thar mule, Birt, an&rsquo; ride over ter Nate&rsquo;s,
+an&rsquo; find out what ails him, ef so be ye hanker ter know.&nbsp;
+I don&rsquo;t want nobody workin&rsquo; in this hyar tanyard ez looks
+ez mournful ez ye do - like ez ef ye hed been buried an&rsquo; dug up.&nbsp;
+But hurry back, &rsquo;kase there ain&rsquo;t enough bark ground yit,
+an&rsquo; I hev got other turns o&rsquo; work I want ye ter do besides
+&rsquo;fore dark.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;War that Satan?&rdquo; asked Rufe abruptly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar?&rdquo; exclaimed Birt, startled, and glancing hastily over
+his shoulder.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Down yander by the lick,&rdquo; plained Rufe.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw!&rdquo; said Birt, scornfully, &ldquo;an&rsquo; nuthin&rsquo;
+like Satan, I&rsquo;ll be bound!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He was, however, uneasy to hear of any man down the ravine in the neighborhood
+of his hidden treasure, but he could not now question Rufe, for Jube
+Perkins, with mock severity, was taking the small boy to account.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers was looking on, the knife idle in his hands, and his lips distended
+with a wide grin in the anticipation of getting some fun out of Rufe.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Look-a-hyar, bub,&rdquo; said Jubal Perkins, with both hands
+in his pockets and glaring down solemnly at Rufe; &ldquo;ef ever I ketches
+ye goin&rsquo; of yerrands no better&rsquo;n that ag&rsquo;in, I&rsquo;m
+a-goin&rsquo; ter - <i>tan</i> that thar hide o&rsquo; yourn.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe gazed up deprecatingly, his eyes widening at the prospect.&nbsp;
+Byers broke into a horse laugh.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been wantin&rsquo; some leetle varmints fur tanning
+ennyhow,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye&rsquo;ll feel mighty queer
+when ye stand out thar on the spent tan, with jes&rsquo; yer meat on
+yer bones, an &rsquo;look up an&rsquo; see yer skin a-hangin&rsquo;
+alongside o&rsquo; the t&rsquo;other calves, an&rsquo; sech - that ye
+will!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; all the mounting folks will be remarkin&rsquo; on it,
+too,&rdquo; said Perkins.&nbsp; Which no doubt they would have done
+with a lively interest.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I reckon,&rdquo; said Byers, looking speculatively at Rufe, &ldquo;ez&rsquo;t
+would take a right smart time fur ye ter git tough enough ter go &rsquo;bout
+in respect&rsquo;ble society ag&rsquo;in.&nbsp; &rsquo;T would hurt
+ye mightily, I&rsquo;m thinkin&rsquo;.&nbsp; Ef I war you-uns, I&rsquo;d
+be powerful partic&rsquo;lar ter keep inside o&rsquo; sech an accommodatin&rsquo;-lookin&rsquo;
+little hide ez yourn be fur tanning.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe&rsquo;s countenance was distorted.&nbsp; He seemed about to tune
+up and whimper.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; ef I war you-uns, Andy Byers,
+I&rsquo;d find su&rsquo;thin&rsquo; better ter do&rsquo;n ter bait an&rsquo;
+badger a critter the size o&rsquo; Rufe!&rdquo; exclaimed Birt angrily.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;That thar boy&rsquo;s &rsquo;bout right, too!&rdquo; said the
+man who had hitherto been standing silent in the door.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, leave Rufe be, Jubal!&rdquo; said Byers, laughing.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;<i>Ye</i> started the fun.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Leave him be, yerself,&rdquo; retorted the tanner.<br/>
+<br/>
+When Birt mounted the mule, and rode out of the yard, he glanced back
+and saw that Rufe had approached the shed; judging by his gestures,
+he was asking a variety of questions touching the art of tanning, to
+which Byers amicably responded.<br/>
+<br/>
+The mists were shifting as Birt went on and on.&nbsp; He heard the acorns
+dropping from the chestnut-oaks - sign that the wind was awake in the
+woods.&nbsp; Like a glittering, polished blade, at last a slanting sunbeam
+fell.&nbsp; It split the gloom, and a radiant afternoon seemed to emerge.&nbsp;
+The moist leaves shone; far down the aisles of the woods the fugitive
+mists, in elusive dryadic suggestions, chased each other into the distance.&nbsp;
+Although the song-birds were all silent, there was a chirping somewhere
+- cheerful sound!&nbsp; He had almost reached his destination when a
+sudden rustling in the undergrowth by the roadside caused him to turn
+and glance back.<br/>
+<br/>
+Two or three shoats lifted their heads and were gazing at him with surprise,
+and a certain disfavor, as if they did not quite like his looks.&nbsp;
+A bevy of barefooted, tow-headed children were making mud pies in a
+marshy dip close by.&nbsp; An ancient hound, that had renounced the
+chase and assumed in his old age the office of tutor, seemed to preside
+with dignity and judgment.&nbsp; He, too, had descried the approach
+of the stranger.&nbsp; He growled, but made no other demonstration.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar&rsquo;s Nate?&rdquo; Birt called out, for these were the
+children of Nate&rsquo;s eldest brother.<br/>
+<br/>
+For a moment there was no reply.&nbsp; Then the smallest of the small
+boys shrilly piped out, &ldquo;He hev gone away! - him an&rsquo; gran&rsquo;dad&rsquo;s
+claybank mare.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Another unexpected development!&nbsp; &ldquo;When will he come back?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter come back fur two weeks.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar &rsquo;bouts hev he gone?&rdquo; asked Birt amazed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Dunno,&rdquo; responded the same little fellow.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;When did he set out?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+There was a meditative pause.&nbsp; Then ensued a jumbled bickering.&nbsp;
+The small boys, the shoats, and the hound seemed to consult together
+in the endeavor to distinguish &ldquo;day &rsquo;fore yestiddy&rdquo;
+from &ldquo;las&rsquo; week.&rdquo;&nbsp; The united intellect of the
+party was inadequate.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Dunno!&rdquo; the mite of a spokesman at last admitted.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt rode on rapidly once more, leaving this choice syndicate settling
+down again to the mud pies.<br/>
+<br/>
+The woods gave way presently and revealed, close to a precipice, Nate&rsquo;s
+home.&nbsp; The log house with its chimney of clay and sticks, the barn
+of ruder guise, the fodder-stack, the ash-hopper, and the rail fence
+were all imposed in high relief against the crimson west and the purpling
+ranges in the distance.&nbsp; The little cabin was quite alone in the
+world.&nbsp; No other house, no field, no clearing, was visible in all
+the vast expanse of mountains and valleys which it overlooked.&nbsp;
+The great panorama of nature seemed to be unrolled for it only.&nbsp;
+The seasons passed in review before it.&nbsp; The moon rose, waxing
+or waning, as if for its behoof.&nbsp; The sun conserved for it a splendid
+state.<br/>
+<br/>
+But the skies above it had sterner moods, - sometimes lightnings veined
+the familiar clouds; winds rioted about it; the thunder spoke close
+at hand.&nbsp; And then it was that Mrs. Griggs lamented her husband&rsquo;s
+course in &ldquo;raisin&rsquo; the house hyar so nigh the bluffs ez
+ef it war an&rsquo; aigle&rsquo;s nest,&rdquo; and forgot that she had
+ever accounted herself &ldquo;sifflicated&rdquo; when distant from the
+airy cliffs.<br/>
+<br/>
+She stood in the doorway now, her arms akimbo - an attitude that makes
+a woman of a certain stamp seem more masterful than a man.&nbsp; Her
+grizzled locks were ornamented by a cotton cap with a wide and impressive
+ruffle, which, swaying and nodding, served to emphasize her remarks.&nbsp;
+She was conferring in a loud drawl with her husband, who had let down
+the bars to admit his horse, laden with a newly killed deer.&nbsp; Her
+manner would seem to imply that she, and not he, had slain the animal.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Toler&rsquo;ble fat,&rdquo; she commented with grave self-complacence.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;He &rsquo;minds me sorter o&rsquo; that thar tremenjious buck
+we hed las&rsquo; September.&nbsp; <i>He</i> war the fattes&rsquo; buck
+I ever see.&nbsp; Take off his hide right straight.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The big cap-ruffle flapped didactically.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Lor&rsquo;-a - massy, woman!&rdquo; vociferated the testy old
+man; &ldquo;ain&rsquo;t I a-goin&rsquo; ter?&nbsp; Ter hear ye a-jowin&rsquo;,
+a-body would think I had never shot nothin&rsquo; likelier&rsquo;n a
+yaller-hammer sence I been born.&nbsp; S&rsquo;pos&rsquo;n ye jes&rsquo;
+takes ter goin&rsquo; a-huntin&rsquo;, an&rsquo; skinnin&rsquo; deer,
+an&rsquo; cuttin&rsquo; wood, an&rsquo; doin&rsquo; my work ginerally.&nbsp;
+Pears-like ye think ye knows mo&rsquo; &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n my work&rsquo;n
+I does.&nbsp; An&rsquo; I&rsquo;ll bide hyar at the house.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Mrs. Griggs nodded her head capably, in nowise dismayed.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+dunno but that plan would work mighty well,&rdquo; she said.<br/>
+<br/>
+This conjugal colloquy terminated as she glanced up and saw Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Why, thar&rsquo;s young Dicey a-hint ye.&nbsp; Howdy Birt!&nbsp;
+&rsquo;Light an&rsquo; hitch!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw&rsquo;m,&rdquo; rejoined Birt, as he rode into the enclosure
+and close up to the doorstep.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hain&rsquo;t got time ter
+&rsquo;light.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then precipitately opening the subject of
+his mission.&nbsp; &ldquo;I kem over hyar ter see Nate.&nbsp; Whar hev
+he disappeared ter?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, now, that&rsquo;s jes&rsquo; what I&rsquo;d like ter know,&rdquo;
+she replied, her face eloquent with baffled curiosity.&nbsp; &ldquo;He
+jes&rsquo; borried his dad&rsquo;s claybank mare, an&rsquo; sot out,
+an&rsquo; never &rsquo;lowed whar he war bound fur.&nbsp; Nate hev turned
+twenty-one year old,&rdquo; she continued, &ldquo;an&rsquo; he &rsquo;lows
+he air a man growed, an&rsquo; obligated ter obey nobody but hisself.&nbsp;
+From the headin&rsquo; way that he kerries on hyar, a-body would s&rsquo;pose
+he air older &rsquo;n the Cumberland Mountings!&nbsp; But he hev turned
+twenty-one - that&rsquo;s a fac&rsquo; - an&rsquo; he voted at the las&rsquo;
+election.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+(With how much discretion it need not now be inquired.)<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I knows that air true,&rdquo; said Birt, who had wistfully admired
+this feat of his senior.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal - Nate don&rsquo;t set much store by votin&rsquo;,&rdquo;
+rejoined Mrs. Griggs.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nate, he say, the greatest privilege
+his kentry kin confer on him is ter make it capital punishment fur wimmen
+ter ax him questions! - Which I hev done,&rdquo; she admitted stoutly.<br/>
+<br/>
+And the ruffle on her cap did not deny it.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Nate air twenty-one,&rdquo; she reiterated.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo;
+I s&rsquo;pose he &rsquo;lows ez I hev no call nowadays ter be his mother.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Hain&rsquo;t ye got no guess whar he be gone?&rdquo; asked Birt,
+dismayed by this strange new complication.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, I hev been studyin&rsquo; it out ez Nate mought hev rid
+ter Parch Corn, whar his great-uncle, Joshua Peters, lives - him that
+merried my aunt, Melissy Baker, ez war a widder then, though born a
+Scruggs.&nbsp; An&rsquo; then, ag&rsquo;in, Nate <i>mought</i> hev tuk
+it inter his head ter go ter the Cross-roads, a-courtin&rsquo; a gal
+thar ez he hev been talkin&rsquo; about powerful, lately.&nbsp; But
+they tells me,&rdquo; Mrs. Griggs expostulated, as it were, &ldquo;that
+them gals at the Cross-roads is in no way desirable, - specially this
+hyar Elviry Mills, ez mighty nigh all the boys on the mounting hev los&rsquo;
+thar wits about, - what little wits ez they ever hed ter lose, I mean
+ter say.&nbsp; But Nate thinks he hev got a right ter a ch&rsquo;ice,
+bein&rsquo; ez he air turned twenty-one.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Did he say when he &rsquo;lowed ter come back?&rdquo; Birt asked.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Bout two or three weeks Nate laid off ter be away; but
+whar he hev gone, an&rsquo; what&rsquo;s his yerrand, he let no human
+know,&rdquo; returned Mrs. Griggs.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hev been powerful
+aggervated &rsquo;bout this caper o&rsquo; Nate&rsquo;s.&nbsp; I ain&rsquo;t
+afeard he&rsquo;ll git hisself hurt no ways whilst he be gone, for Nate
+is mighty apt ter take keer o&rsquo; Nate.&rdquo;&nbsp; She nodded her
+head convincingly, and the great ruffle on her cap shook in corroboration.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;But I hain&rsquo;t never hed the right medjure o&rsquo; respec&rsquo;
+out&rsquo;n Nate, an&rsquo; his dad hain&rsquo;t, nuther.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt listened vaguely to this account of his friend&rsquo;s filial shortcomings,
+his absent eyes fixed upon the wide landscape, and his mind busy with
+the anxious problems of Nate&rsquo;s broken promises.<br/>
+<br/>
+And the big red ball of the setting sun seemed at last to roll off the
+plane of the horizon, and it disappeared amidst the fiery emblazonment
+of clouds with which it had enriched the west.&nbsp; But all the world
+was not so splendid; midway below the dark purple summits a dun, opaque
+vapor asserted itself in dreary, aerial suspension.&nbsp; Beneath it
+he could see a file of cows, homeward bound, along the road that encircled
+the mountain&rsquo;s base.&nbsp; He heard them low, and this reminded
+him that night was near, for all that the zenith was azure, and for
+all that the west was aglow.&nbsp; And he remembered he had a good many
+odd jobs to do before dark.&nbsp; And so he turned his face homeward.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER V.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt had always been held in high esteem by the men at the tanyard.&nbsp;
+Suddenly, however, the feeling toward him cooled.&nbsp; He remembered
+afterward, although at the time he was too absorbed to fully appreciate
+it, that this change began one day shortly after he had learned of Nate&rsquo;s
+departure.&nbsp; As he went mechanically about his work, he was pondering
+futilely upon his friend&rsquo;s mysterious journey, and his tantalizing
+hopes lying untried in the depths of the ravine.&nbsp; He hardly noticed
+the conversation of the men until something was said that touched upon
+the wish nearest his heart.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I war studyin&rsquo; &rsquo;bout lettin&rsquo; Birt hev a day
+off,&rdquo; said the tanner.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; ye&rsquo;ll bide
+hyar.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw, Jube - naw!&rdquo; Andy Byers replied with stalwart independence
+to his employer.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hev laid off ter attend.&nbsp; Ef ye
+want ennybody ter bide with the tanyard, an&rsquo; keer fur this hyar
+pit, ye kin do it yerse&rsquo;f, or else Birt kin.&nbsp; <i>I</i> hev
+laid off ter attend.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers was a man of moods.&nbsp; His shaggy eyebrows to-day overshadowed
+eyes sombre and austere.&nbsp; He seemed, if possible, a little slower
+than was his wont.&nbsp; He bore himself with a sour solemnity, and
+he was at once irritable and dejected.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Shucks, Andy! ye knows ye ain&rsquo;t no kin sca&rsquo;cely ter
+the old woman; ye couldn&rsquo;t count out how ye air kin ter her ter
+save yer life.&nbsp; Now, <i>I</i>&rsquo;m obleeged ter attend.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+It so happened that the tanner&rsquo;s great-aunt was distantly related
+to Andy Byers.&nbsp; Being ill, and an extremely old woman, she was
+supposed to be lying at the point of death, and her kindred had been
+summoned to hear her last words.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I hed &rsquo;lowed ter gin Birt a day off, &rsquo;kase I hev
+got ter hev the mule in the wagon, an&rsquo; he can&rsquo;t grind bark.&nbsp;
+I <i>promised</i> Birt a day off,&rdquo; the tanner continued.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;That thar&rsquo;s twixt ye an&rsquo; Birt.&nbsp; I hain&rsquo;t
+got no call ter meddle,&rdquo; said the obdurate Byers.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye
+kin bide with the tanyard an&rsquo; finish this job yerse&rsquo;f, of
+so minded.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m goin&rsquo; ter attend.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I reckon half the kentry-side will be thar, an&rsquo; <i>I</i>
+wants ter see the folks,&rdquo; said Jubal Perkins, cheerfully.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Then Birt will hev ter bide with the tanyard, an&rsquo; finish
+this job.&nbsp; It don&rsquo;t lie with me ter gin him a day off.&nbsp;
+I don&rsquo;t keer ef he never gits a day off,&rdquo; said Byers.<br/>
+<br/>
+This was an unnecessarily unkind speech, and Birt&rsquo;s anger flamed
+out.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ef we-uns war of a size, Andy Byers,&rdquo; he said, hotly, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d
+make ye divide work a leetle more ekal than ye does.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers dropped the hide in his hands, and looked steadily across
+the pit at Birt, as if he were taking the boy&rsquo;s measure.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye mean ter say ef ye hed the bone an&rsquo; muscle ye&rsquo;d
+knock me down, do ye?&rdquo; he sneered.&nbsp; &ldquo;Waal, I&rsquo;ll
+take the will fur the deed.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ll hold the grudge agin ye,
+jes&rsquo; the same.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+They were all three busied about the pit.&nbsp; The hides had been taken
+out, and stratified anew, with layers of fresh tan, reversing the original
+order, - those that had been at the bottom now being placed at the top.&nbsp;
+The operation was almost complete before Jubal Perkins received the
+news of his relative&rsquo;s precarious condition.&nbsp; He had no doubt
+that Birt was able to finish it properly, and the boy&rsquo;s conscientious
+habit of doing his best served to make the tanner&rsquo;s mind quite
+easy.&nbsp; As to the day off, he was glad to have that question settled
+by a quarrel between his employees, thus relieving him of responsibility.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s wrath was always evanescent, and he was sorry a moment
+afterward for what he had said.&nbsp; Andy Byers exchanged no more words
+with him, and skillfully combined a curt and crusty manner toward him
+with an aspect of contemplative dreariness.&nbsp; Occasionally, as they
+paused to rest, Byers would sigh deeply.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;A mighty good old woman, Mrs. Price war.&rdquo;&nbsp; He spoke
+as if she were already dead.&nbsp; &ldquo;A mighty good old woman, though
+small-sized.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;A little of her went a long way.&nbsp; She war eighty-four year
+old, an&rsquo; kep&rsquo; a sharp tongue in her head ter the las&rsquo;,&rdquo;
+rejoined the tanner, adopting in turn the past tense.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe listened with startled interest.&nbsp; Now and then he cocked up
+his speculative eyes, and gazed fixedly into the preternaturally solemn
+face of Byers, who reiterated, &ldquo;A good old woman, though small-sized.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+With this unaccustomed absorption Rufe&rsquo;s accomplishment of getting
+under-foot became pronounced.&nbsp; The tanner jostled him more than
+once, Birt stumbled against his toes, and Byers, suddenly turning, ran
+quite over him.&nbsp; Rufe had not far to fall, but Byers was a tall
+man.&nbsp; His arms swayed like the sails of a windmill in the effort
+to recover his balance.&nbsp; He was in danger of toppling into the
+pit, and in fact only caught himself on his knees at its verge.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye torment!&rdquo; he roared angrily, as he struggled to his
+feet.&nbsp; &ldquo;G&rsquo;way from hyar, or I&rsquo;ll skeer ye out&rsquo;n
+yer wits!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The small boy ruefully gathered his members together, and after the
+men had started on their journey he sat down on a pile of wood hard
+by to give Birt his opinion of Andy Byers.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He air a toler&rsquo;ble mean man, ain&rsquo;t he, Birt?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+But Birt said he had no mind to talk about Andy Byers.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>Skeer me</i>!&rdquo; exclaimed Rufe, doughtily.&nbsp; &ldquo;It
+takes a heap ter skeer <i>Me</i>!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He got up presently, and going into the shed began to examine the tools
+of the trade which were lying there.&nbsp; He had the two-handled knife,
+with which he was about to try his skill on a hide that was stretched
+over the beam of the wooden horse, when Birt glanced up and came hastily
+to the rescue.&nbsp; Rufe was disposed to further investigate the appliances
+of the tanyard left defenseless at his mercy, but at last Birt prevailed
+on him to go home and play with Tennessee, and was glad enough to see
+his tow-head, with his old hat perched precariously on it, bobbing up
+and down among the low bushes, as he wended his way along the path through
+the woods.<br/>
+<br/>
+The hides had all been replaced between layers of fresh tan before the
+men left, and Birt had only to fill up the space above with a thicker
+layer, ten or fifteen inches deep, and put the boards securely across
+the top of the pit, with heavy stones upon them to weight them down.&nbsp;
+But this kept him busy all the rest of the afternoon.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe was pretty busy too.&nbsp; When he came in sight of home Tennessee
+was the first object visible in the open passage.&nbsp; The sunshine
+slanted through it under the dusky roof, and the shadows of the chestnut-oak,
+hard by, dappled the floor.&nbsp; Lying there was an old Mexican saddle,
+for which there was no use since the horse had died.&nbsp; Tennessee
+was mounted upon it, the reins in her hands, the headstall and bit poised
+on the peaked pommel.&nbsp; She jounced back and forth, and the skirts
+of the saddle flapped and the stirrups clanked on the floor, and the
+absorbed eyes of the little mountaineer were fixed on space.<br/>
+<br/>
+Away and away she cantered on some splendid imaginary palfrey, through
+scenes where conjecture fails to follow her: a land, doubtless, where
+all the winds blow fair, and sparkling waters run, and jeopardy delights,
+and fancy&rsquo;s license prevails - all very different, you may be
+sure, from the facts, an old saddle on a puncheon floor, and a little
+black-eyed mountaineer.<br/>
+<br/>
+How far Tennessee journeyed, and how long she was gone, it is impossible
+to say.&nbsp; She halted suddenly when her attention was attracted to
+a phenomenon within one of the rooms.<br/>
+<br/>
+The door was ajar and the solitary Rufe was visible in the dusky vista.&nbsp;
+He stood before a large wooden chest.&nbsp; He had lifted the lid, and
+kept it up by resting it upon his head, bent forward for the purpose,
+while he rummaged the contents with vandal hands.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tennessee stared at him, with indignant surprise gathering in her widening
+eyes.<br/>
+<br/>
+Now that chest contained, besides a meagre store of quilts and comforts,
+her own and her mother&rsquo;s clothes, the fewer garments of the boys
+of the family being alternately suspended on the clothes-line and their
+own frames.&nbsp; She resented the sacrilege of Rufe&rsquo;s invasion
+of that chest.&nbsp; She turned on the saddle and looked around with
+an air of appeal.&nbsp; Her mother, however, was down the hill beside
+the spring, busy boiling soap, and quite out of hearing.&nbsp; Tennessee
+gazed vaguely for a moment at the great kettle with the red and yellow
+flames curling around it, and her mother&rsquo;s figure hovering over
+it.&nbsp; Then she looked back at Rufe.<br/>
+<br/>
+He continued industriously churning up the contents of the chest, the
+lid still poised upon that head that served so many other useful purposes
+- for the gymnastic exhibition involved in standing on it; for his extraordinary
+mental processes; for a lodgment for his old wool hat, and a field for
+his crop of flaxen hair.<br/>
+<br/>
+All the instinct of the proprietor was roused within Tennessee.&nbsp;
+She found her voice, a hoarse, infantile wheeze.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tum out&rsquo;n chist!&rdquo; she exclaimed, gutturally.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Tum out&rsquo;n chist!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe turned his tow-head slowly, that he might not disturb the poise
+of the lid of the chest resting upon it.&nbsp; He fixed a solemn stare
+on Tennessee, and drawing one hand from the depths of the chest, he
+silently shook his fist.&nbsp; And then he resumed his researches.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tennessee, alarmed by this impressive demonstration, dismounted hastily
+from the saddle as soon as his threatening gaze was withdrawn.&nbsp;
+She tangled her feet in the stirrups and her hands in the reins, and
+lost more time in scrambling off the floor of the passage and down upon
+the ground; but at last she was fairly on her way to the spring to convey
+an account to her mother of the outlaw in the chest.&nbsp; In fact,
+she was not far from the scene of the soap-boiling when she heard her
+name shouted in stentorian tones, and pausing to look back, she saw
+Rufe gleefully capering about in the passage, the headstall on his own
+head, the bit hanging on his breast, and the reins dangling at his heels.<br/>
+<br/>
+Now this beguilement the little girl could never withstand, and indeed
+few people ever had the opportunity to drive so frisky and high-spirited
+a horse as Rufe was when he consented to assume the bit and bridle.&nbsp;
+He was rarely so accommodating, as he preferred the role of driver,
+with what he called &ldquo;a pop-lash<i>ee</i>!&rdquo; at command.&nbsp;
+She forgot her tell-tale mission.&nbsp; She turned with a gurgle of
+delight and began to toddle up the hill again.&nbsp; And presently Mrs.
+Dicey, glancing toward the house, saw them playing together in great
+amity, and rejoiced that they gave her so little trouble.<br/>
+<br/>
+They were still at it when Birt came home, but then Tennessee was tired
+of driving, and he let her go with him to the wood-pile and sit on a
+log while he swung the axe.&nbsp; No one took special notice of Rufe&rsquo;s
+movements in the interval before supper.&nbsp; He disappeared for a
+time, but when the circle gathered around the table he was in his place
+and by no means a non-combatant in the general onslaught on the corn-dodgers.&nbsp;
+Afterward he came out in the passage and sat quietly among the others.<br/>
+<br/>
+The freshened air was fragrant, and how the crickets were chirring in
+the grass!&nbsp; On every spear the dew was a-glimmer, for a lustrous
+moon shone from the sky.&nbsp; Somehow, despite the long roads of light
+that this splendid pioneer blazed out in the wilderness, it seemed only
+to reveal the loneliness of the forests, and to give new meaning to
+the solemnity of the shadows.&nbsp; The heart was astir with some responsive
+thrill that jarred vaguely, and was pain.&nbsp; Yet the night had its
+melancholy fascination, and they were all awake later than usual.&nbsp;
+When at last the doors were barred, and the house grew still, and even
+the vigilant Towse had ceased to bay and had lodged himself under the
+floor of the passage, the moon still shone in isolated effulgence, for
+the faint stars faded before it.<br/>
+<br/>
+The knowledge that in all the vast stretch of mountain fastnesses he
+was the only human creature that beheld it, as it majestically crossed
+the meridian, gave Andy Byers a forlorn feeling, while tramping along
+homeward.&nbsp; He had made the journey afoot, some eight miles down
+the valley, and was later far in returning than others who had heeded
+the summons of the sick woman.&nbsp; For she still lay in the same critical
+condition, and his mind was full of dismal forebodings as he toiled
+along the road on the mountain&rsquo;s brow.&nbsp; The dark woods were
+veined with shimmering silver.&nbsp; The mists, hovering here and there,
+showed now a blue and now an amber gleam as the moon&rsquo;s rays conjured
+them.&nbsp; On one side of the road an oak tree had been uptorn in a
+wind-storm; the roots, carrying a great mass of earth with them, were
+thrust high in the air, while the bole and leafless branches lay prone
+along the ground.&nbsp; This served as a break in the density of the
+forest, and the white moonshine possessed the vacant space.<br/>
+<br/>
+As he glanced in that direction his heart gave a great bound, then seemed
+suddenly to stand still.&nbsp; There, close to the verge of the road,
+as if she had stepped aside to let him pass, was the figure of an old
+woman - a small-sized woman, tremulous and bent.&nbsp; It looked like
+old Mrs. Price!&nbsp; As he paused amazed, with starting eyes and failing
+limbs, the wind fluttered her shawl and her ample sunbonnet.&nbsp; This
+shielded her face and he could not see her features.&nbsp; Her head
+seemed to turn toward him.&nbsp; The next instant it nodded at him familiarly.<br/>
+<br/>
+To the superstitions mountaineer this suggested that the old woman had
+died since he had left her house, and here was her ghost already vagrant
+in the woods!<br/>
+<br/>
+The foolish fellow did not wait to put this fancy to the test.&nbsp;
+With a piercing cry he sprang past, and fled like a frightened deer
+through the wilderness homeward.<br/>
+<br/>
+In his own house he hardly felt more secure.&nbsp; He could not rest
+- he could not sleep.&nbsp; He stirred the embers with a trembling hand,
+and sat shivering over them.&nbsp; His wife, willing enough to believe
+in &ldquo;harnts&rdquo;* as appearing to other people, was disposed
+to repudiate them when they presumed to offer their dubious association
+to members of her own family circle.<br/>
+<br/>
+* Ghosts.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Dell-law!&rdquo; she exclaimed scornfully.&nbsp; &ldquo;I say
+harnt!&nbsp; Old Mrs. Price, though spry ter the las&rsquo;, war so
+proud o&rsquo; her age an&rsquo; her ailments that she wouldn&rsquo;t
+hev nobody see her walk a step, or stand on her feet, fur nuthin&rsquo;.&nbsp;
+Her darter-in-law tole me ez the only way ter find out how nimble she
+really be war ter box one o&rsquo; her gran&rsquo;chill&rsquo;n, an&rsquo;
+then she&rsquo;d bounce out&rsquo;n her cheer, an&rsquo; jounce round
+the room after thar daddy or mammy, whichever hed boxed the chill&rsquo;n.&nbsp;
+That fursaken couple always hed ter drag thar chill&rsquo;n out in the
+woods, out&rsquo;n earshot of the house, ter whip &rsquo;em, an&rsquo;
+then threat &rsquo;em ef they dare let thar granny know they hed been
+struck.&nbsp; But elsewise she hed ter be lifted from her bed ter her
+cheer by the h&rsquo;a&rsquo;th.&nbsp; She wouldn&rsquo;t hev <i>her</i>
+sperit seen a-walkin&rsquo; way up hyar a-top o&rsquo; the mounting,
+like enny healthy harnt, fur nuthin&rsquo; in this worl&rsquo;.&nbsp;
+Whatever &rsquo;twar, &rsquo;twarn&rsquo;t <i>her</i>.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+I reckon of the truth war knowed, &rsquo;twarn&rsquo;t nuthin&rsquo;
+at all - forg, mebbe.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+This stalwart reasoning served to steady his nerves a little.&nbsp;
+And when the moon went down and the day was slowly breaking, he took
+his way, with a vacillating intention and many a chilling doubt, along
+the winding road to the scene of his fright.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was not yet time by a good hour or more to go to work, and nothing
+was stirring.&nbsp; A wan light was on the landscape when he came in
+sight of the great tree prone upon the ground.&nbsp; And there, close
+to the edge of the road, as if she had stepped aside to let him pass,
+was the figure of a little, bent old woman - nay, in the brightening
+dawn, a bush - a blackberry bush, clad in a blue-checked apron, a red
+plaid shawl, and with a neat sunbonnet nodding on its topmost spray.<br/>
+<br/>
+His first emotion was intense relief.&nbsp; Then he stood staring at
+the bush in rising indignation.&nbsp; This sandy by-way of a road led
+only to his own house, and this image of a small and bent old woman
+had doubtless been devised, to terrify him, by some one who knew of
+his mission, and that he could not return except by this route.<br/>
+<br/>
+Only for a moment did he feel uncertain as to the ghost-maker&rsquo;s
+identity.&nbsp; There was something singularly familiar to him in the
+plaid of the shawl - even in the appearance of the bonnet, although
+it was now limp and damp.&nbsp; He saw it at &ldquo;meet&rsquo;n&rdquo;
+whenever the circuit rider preached, and he presently recognized it.&nbsp;
+This was Mrs. Dicey&rsquo;s bonnet!<br/>
+<br/>
+His face hardened.&nbsp; He set his teeth together.&nbsp; An angry flush
+flared to the roots of his hair.<br/>
+<br/>
+Not that he suspected the widow of having set this trap to frighten
+him.&nbsp; He was not learned, nor versed in feminine idiosyncrasies,
+but it does not require much wisdom to know that on no account whatever
+does a woman&rsquo;s best bonnet stay out all night in the dew, intentionally.&nbsp;
+The presence of her bonnet proved the widow&rsquo;s <i>alibi</i>.<br/>
+<br/>
+Like a flash he remembered Birt&rsquo;s anger the previous day.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Told me he&rsquo;d make me divide work mo&rsquo; ekal, an&rsquo;
+ez good ez said he&rsquo;d knock me down ef he could.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+I told him I&rsquo;d hold the grudge agin him jes&rsquo; the same -
+an&rsquo; I will!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He felt sure that it was Birt who had thus taken revenge, because he
+was kept at work while his fellow-laborer was free to go.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers thought the boy would presently come to take the garments home,
+and conceal his share in the matter, before any one else would be likely
+to stir abroad.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; I&rsquo;ll hide close by with a good big hickory stick,
+an&rsquo; I&rsquo;ll gin him a larrupin&rsquo; ez he won&rsquo;t furgit
+in a month o&rsquo; Sundays,&rdquo; he resolved, angrily.<br/>
+<br/>
+He opened his clasp-knife, and walked slowly into the woods, looking
+about for a choice hickory sprout.&nbsp; He did not at once find one
+of a size that he considered appropriate to the magnitude of Birt&rsquo;s
+wickedness, and he went further perhaps than he realized, and stayed
+longer.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had a smile of stern satisfaction on his face when he was lopping
+off the leaves and twigs of a specimen admirably adapted for vengeance.&nbsp;
+He was stealthy in returning, keeping behind the trees, and slipping
+softly from bole to bole.&nbsp; At last, as the winding road was once
+more in view, he crouched down behind the roots of the great fallen
+oak.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want him ter git a glimge of me, an&rsquo; skeer
+him off afore I kin lay a-holt on him,&rdquo; he said.<br/>
+<br/>
+He intended to keep the neighboring bush under close watch, and through
+the interlacing roots he peered out furtively at it.&nbsp; His eyes
+distended and he hastily rose from his hiding-place.<br/>
+<br/>
+The blackberry bush was swaying in the wind, clothed only in its own
+scant and rusty leaves.&nbsp; A wren perched on a spray, chirped cheerful
+matins.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER VI.<br/>
+<br/>
+His scheme was thwarted.&nbsp; The boy had come and gone in his absence,
+all unaware of his proximity and the impending punishment so narrowly
+escaped.<br/>
+<br/>
+But when Andy Byers reached the tanyard and went to work, he said nothing
+to Birt.&nbsp; He did not even allude to the counterfeit apparition
+in the woods, although Mrs. Price&rsquo;s probable recovery was more
+than once under discussion among the men who came and went, - indeed,
+she lived many years thereafter, to defend her lucky grandchildren against
+every device of discipline.&nbsp; Byers had given heed to more crafty
+counsels.&nbsp; On the whole he was now glad that he had not had the
+opportunity to make Birt and the hickory sprout acquainted with each
+other.&nbsp; This would be an acknowledgment that he had been terrified
+by the manufactured ghost, and he preferred foregoing open revenge to
+encountering the jocose tanner&rsquo;s ridicule, and the gibes that
+would circulate at his expense throughout the country-side.&nbsp; But
+he cherished the grievance, and he resolved that Birt should rue it.&nbsp;
+He had expected that Birt would boast of having frightened him.&nbsp;
+He intended to admit that he had been a trifle startled, and in treating
+the matter thus lightly he hoped it would seem that the apparition was
+a failure.<br/>
+<br/>
+However, day by day passed and nothing was said.&nbsp; The ghost vanished
+as mysteriously as it had come.&nbsp; Only Mrs. Dicey, taking her bonnet
+and apron and shawl from the chest, was amazed at the extraordinary
+manner in which they were folded and at their limp condition, and when
+she found a bunch of cockle-burs in the worsted fringes of the shawl
+she declared that witches must have had it, for she had not worn it
+since early in April when there were no cockle-burs.&nbsp; She forthwith
+nailed a horseshoe on the door to keep the witches out, and she never
+liked the shawl so well after she had projected a mental picture of
+a lady wearing it, riding on a broomstick, and sporting also a long
+peaked nose.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt hardly noticed the crusty and ungracious conduct of Andy Byers
+toward him.&nbsp; He worked on doggedly, scheming all the time to get
+off from the tanyard, and wondering again and again why Nate had gone,
+and where, and when he would return.<br/>
+<br/>
+One day - a gray day it was and threatening rain - as he came suddenly
+out of the shed, he saw a boy at the bars.&nbsp; It was Nate Griggs!&nbsp;
+No; only for a moment he thought this was Nate.&nbsp; But this fellow&rsquo;s
+eyes were not so close together; his hair was less sandy; there were
+no facial indications of extreme slyness.&nbsp; It was only Nathan&rsquo;s
+humble likeness, his younger brother, Timothy.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had Nate&rsquo;s coat thrown over his arm, and he shouldered his
+brother&rsquo;s rifle.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tim came slouching slowly into the tanyard, a good-natured grin on his
+face.&nbsp; He paused only to knock Rufe&rsquo;s hat over his eyes,
+as the small boy stood in front of the low-spirited mule, both hands
+busy with the animal&rsquo;s mouth, striving to open his jaws to judge
+by his teeth how old he might be.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;The critter&rsquo;ll bite ye, Rufe!&rdquo; Birt exclaimed, for
+as Rufe stooped to pick up his hat the mule showed some curiosity in
+his turn, and was snuffling at Rufe&rsquo;s hay-colored hair.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe readjusted his head-gear, and ceasing his impolite researches into
+the mule&rsquo;s age, came up to the other two boys.&nbsp; Tim had paused
+by the shed, and leaning upon the rifle, began to talk.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I war a-passin&rsquo; by, an&rsquo; I thought I&rsquo;d drap
+in on ye.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Hev you-uns hearn from Nate since he hev been gone away?&rdquo;
+demanded Birt anxiously.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He hev come home,&rdquo; responded Tim.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;When did he git home?&rdquo; Birt asked with increasing suspicion.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Las&rsquo; week,&rdquo; said Tim carelessly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Another problem!&nbsp; Why had Nate not communicated with his partner
+about their proposed work?&nbsp; It seemed a special avoidance.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I onderstood ez how he aimed ter bide away longer,&rdquo; Birt
+remarked.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He did count on stayin&rsquo; longer,&rdquo; said Tim, &ldquo;but
+he rid night an&rsquo; day ter git hyar sooner.&nbsp; It &rsquo;pears
+like ter me he war in sech a hurry so ez ter start <i>me</i> ter work,
+and nuthin&rsquo; else in this worl&rsquo;.&nbsp; I owe Nate a debt,
+ye see, an&rsquo; I hev ter work it out.&nbsp; I hev been so onlucky
+ez I couldn&rsquo;t make out ter pay him nohow in the worl&rsquo;.&nbsp;
+Ye see, I traded with Nate fur a shoat, an&rsquo; the spiteful beastis
+sneaked out&rsquo;n my pen, an&rsquo; went rootin&rsquo; round the aidge
+o&rsquo; the clearin&rsquo;, an&rsquo; war toted off bodaciously by
+a bar ez war a-prowlin&rsquo; round thar.&nbsp; An&rsquo; I got no good
+o&rsquo; that thar shoat, &rsquo;kase the bar hed him, but I hed to
+pay fur him all the same.&nbsp; An&rsquo; dad gin his cornsent ter Nate
+ter let me work a month an&rsquo; better fur him, ter pay out&rsquo;n
+debt fur the shoat.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What work be you-uns goin&rsquo; ter do?&rdquo;&nbsp; Birt had
+a strong impression, amounting to a conviction, that there was something
+behind all this, which he was slowly approaching.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said Tim, in surprise, &ldquo;hain&rsquo;t ye hearn
+bout&rsquo;n Nate&rsquo;s new land what he hev jes&rsquo; got &lsquo;entered&rsquo;
+ez he calls it?&nbsp; He hev got a grant fur it from the land-office
+down yander in Sparty, whar he hev been.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;New land - &rsquo;<i>entered</i>!&rsquo;&rdquo; faltered Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tim nodded.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nate fund a trac&rsquo; o&rsquo; land a-layin&rsquo;
+ter suit his mind what b&rsquo;longed ter nobody but the State - vacant
+land, ye see - an&rsquo; so he went ter the &lsquo;entry-taker,&rsquo;
+they calls him, an&rsquo; gits it &lsquo;entered,&rsquo; an&rsquo; the
+surveyor kem an&rsquo; medjured it, an&rsquo; then Nate got a grant
+fur it, an&rsquo; now it air his&rsquo;n.&nbsp; The Gov&rsquo;nor o&rsquo;
+the State hev sot his name ter that thar grant - the Gov&rsquo;nor o&rsquo;
+Tennessee!&rdquo; reiterated Tim pridefully.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo;
+the great seal o&rsquo; the State!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar be the land?&rdquo; gasped Birt, possessed by a dreadful
+fear.<br/>
+<br/>
+His face was white, its muscles rigid.&nbsp; Its altered expression
+could not for an instant have escaped the notice of Timothy&rsquo;s
+brother Nathan.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Why, it lays bout&rsquo;n haffen mile off - all down the ravine
+nigh that thar salt-lick; but look-a-hyar, Birt - what ails ye?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The stunned despair in the white face had at last arrested his careless
+attention.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t ye be mindin&rsquo; of me - I feel sorter porely
+an&rsquo; sick all of a suddint; tell on &rsquo;bout the land an&rsquo;
+sech,&rdquo; said Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+He sat down on the end of the wood-pile, and Tim, still leaning on the
+rifle, recommenced.&nbsp; He was generally much cowed and kept down
+by Nate, and was unaccustomed to respect and consideration.&nbsp; Therefore
+he felt a certain gratification in having so attentive a listener.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, I never hearn o&rsquo; this fashion o&rsquo; enterin&rsquo;
+land like Nate done in all my life afore; though dad say that&rsquo;s
+the law in Tennessee, ter git a title ter vacant land ez jes&rsquo;
+b&rsquo;longs ter the State.&nbsp; Mebbe them air the ways ez Nate l&rsquo;arned
+whilst he war a-hangin&rsquo; round the Settlemint so constant, an&rsquo;
+forever talkin&rsquo; ter the men thar.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s precocity had never let him feel at a disadvantage with
+Nate, although his friend was five years older.&nbsp; Now he began to
+appreciate that Nate was indeed a man grown, and had become sophisticated
+in the ways of his primitive world by his association with the other
+men at the Settlement.<br/>
+<br/>
+There was a pause.&nbsp; But the luxury of being allowed to talk without
+contradiction or rebuke presently induced Tim to proceed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He war hyar mighty nigh all day long,&rdquo; he said reflectively.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;He eat his dinner along of we-uns.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Who? the Gov&rsquo;nor o&rsquo; the State?&rdquo; exclaimed Birt,
+astounded.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw, &rsquo;twarn&rsquo;t <i>him</i>,&rdquo; Tim admitted somewhat
+reluctantly, since Birt seemed disposed to credit &ldquo;we-uns&rdquo;
+with a gubernatorial guest.&nbsp; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the surveyor I&rsquo;m
+talkin&rsquo; &rsquo;bout.&nbsp; Nate hed ter pay him three dollars
+an&rsquo; better fur medjurin&rsquo; the land.&nbsp; He tole Nate ez
+his land war ez steep an&rsquo; rocky a spot ez thar war in Tennessee
+from e-end ter e-end.&nbsp; He axed Nate what ailed him ter hanker ter
+pay taxes on sech a pack o&rsquo; bowlders an&rsquo; bresh.&nbsp; He
+&rsquo;lowed the land warn&rsquo;t wuth a cent an acre.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What did Nate say?&rdquo; asked Birt, who hung with feverish
+interest on every thoughtless word.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, Nate &rsquo;lows ez he hev fund a cur&rsquo;ous metal on
+his land; he say it air <i>gold</i>!&rdquo;&nbsp; Tim opened his eyes
+very wide, and smacked his lips, as if the word tasted good.&nbsp; &ldquo;He
+&rsquo;lowed ez he needn&rsquo;t hev been in sech a hurry ter enter
+his land, &rsquo;kase the entry-taker told it ter him ez it air the
+law in Tennessee ez ennybody ez finds a mine or val&rsquo;able min&rsquo;ral
+on vacant land hev got six months extry ter enter the land afore ennybody
+else kin, an&rsquo; ef ennybody else wants ter enter it, they hev ter
+gin the finder o&rsquo; the mine thirty days&rsquo; notice.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Tim winked, an impressive demonstration but for the insufficiency of
+eyelashes: -<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;The surveyor he misdoubted, an&rsquo; &rsquo;lowed ez gold hed
+never been fund in these parts.&nbsp; He said they fund gold in them
+mountings furder east &rsquo;bout twenty odd year ago - in 1831, I believe
+he said.&nbsp; He &rsquo;lowed them mountings hain&rsquo;t got no coal
+like our&rsquo;n hev, an&rsquo; the Cumberland Mountings hain&rsquo;t
+got no gold.&nbsp; An&rsquo; then in a minit he tuk ter misdoubtin&rsquo;
+on the t&rsquo;other side o&rsquo; his mouth.&nbsp; He &rsquo;lowed
+ez Nate&rsquo;s min&rsquo;ral <i>mought</i> be gold, an&rsquo; then
+ag&rsquo;in it moughtn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The essential difference between these two extremes has afforded scope
+for vacillation to more consistent men than the surveyor.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Thar&rsquo;s the grant right now, in the pocket o&rsquo; Nate&rsquo;s
+coat,&rdquo; said Tim, shifting the garment on his arm to show a stiff,
+white folded paper sticking out of the breast pocket.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+reckon when he tole me ter tote his gun an&rsquo; coat home, he furgot
+the grant war in his pocket, &rsquo;kase he fairly dotes on it, an&rsquo;
+won&rsquo;t trest it out&rsquo;n his sight.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate was in the habit of exacting similar services from his acquiescent
+younger brother, and Tim had his hands full, as he tried to hold the
+gun, and turn the coat on his arm.&nbsp; He finally hung the garment
+on a peg in the shed, and shouldered the weapon.&nbsp; Suddenly he whirled
+around toward Rufe, who was still standing by.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What in the nation air inside o&rsquo; that thar boy?&rdquo;
+he exclaimed.&nbsp; &ldquo;A chicken, ain&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+For a musical treble chirping was heard proceeding apparently from Rufe&rsquo;s
+pocket.&nbsp; This chicken differed from others that Rufe had put away,
+in being alive and hearty.<br/>
+<br/>
+The small boy entered into the conversation with great spirit, to tell
+that a certain hen which he owned had yesterday come off her nest with
+fourteen of the spryest deedies that ever stepped.&nbsp; One in especial
+had so won upon Rufe by its beauty and grace of deportment that he was
+carrying it about with him, feeding it at close intervals, and housing
+it in the security of his pocket.<br/>
+<br/>
+The deedie hardly made a moan.&nbsp; There was no use in remonstrating
+with Rufe, - everything that came within his eccentric orbit seemed
+to realize that, - and the deedie was contentedly nestling down in his
+pocket, apparently resigned to lead the life of a portemonnaie.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe narrated with pardonable pride the fact that, some time before,
+his great-uncle, Rufus Dicey, had sent to him from the &ldquo;valley
+kentry&rdquo; a present of a pair of game chickens, and that this deedie
+was from the first egg hatched in the game hen&rsquo;s brood.<br/>
+<br/>
+But Rufe was not selfish.&nbsp; He offered to give Tim one of the chicks.&nbsp;
+Now poultry was Tim&rsquo;s weakness.&nbsp; He accepted with more haste
+than was seemly, and at once asked for the deedie in the small boy&rsquo;s
+pocket.&nbsp; Rufe, however, refused to part from the chick of his adoption,
+and presently Tim, with the gun on his shoulder, left the tanyard in
+company with Rufe, to look over the brood of game chicks, and make a
+selection from among them.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt hardly noticed what they did or said.&nbsp; Every faculty was absorbed
+in considering the wily game which his false friend had played so successfully.&nbsp;
+It was all plain enough now.&nbsp; The fruit of his discovery would
+be plucked by other hands.&nbsp; There was to be no division of the
+profits.&nbsp; Nate Griggs had coveted the whole.&nbsp; His craft had
+secured it for himself alone.&nbsp; He had the legal title to the land,
+the mine - all!&nbsp; There seemed absolutely no vulnerable point in
+his scheme.&nbsp; With suddenly sharpened perceptions, Birt realized
+that if he should now claim the discovery and the consequent right of
+thirty days&rsquo; notice of Nate&rsquo;s intention, by virtue of the
+priority of entering land accorded by the statute to the finder of a
+mine or valuable mineral, it would be considered a groundless boast,
+actuated by envy and jealousy.&nbsp; He had told no one but Nate of
+his discovery - and would not Nate now deny it!<br/>
+<br/>
+However, one thing in the future was certain, - Nathan Griggs should
+not escape altogether scathless.&nbsp; For a long time Birt sat motionless,
+revolving vengeful purposes in his mind.&nbsp; Every moment he grew
+more bitter, as he reflected upon his wrecked scheme, his wonderful
+fatuity, and the double dealing of his chosen coadjutor.&nbsp; But he
+would get even with Nate Griggs yet; he promised himself that, - he
+would get even!<br/>
+<br/>
+At last the falling darkness warned him home.&nbsp; When he rose his
+limbs trembled, his head was in a whirl, and the familiar scene swayed,
+strange and distorted, before him.&nbsp; He steadied himself after a
+moment, finished the odd jobs he had left undone, and presently was
+trudging homeward.<br/>
+<br/>
+A heavy black cloud overhung the woods; an expectant stillness brooded
+upon the sultry world; an angry storm was in the air.&nbsp; The first
+vivid flash and simultaneous peal burst from the sky as he reached the
+passage between the two rooms.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye air powerful perlite ter come a-steppin&rsquo; home jes&rsquo;
+at supper-time,&rdquo; said his mother advancing to meet him.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ye lef&rsquo; no wood hyar, an&rsquo; ye said ye would borry
+the mule, an&rsquo; come home early a-purpose to haul some.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+me hyar with nuthin&rsquo; to cook supper with but sech chips an&rsquo;
+blocks an&rsquo; bresh ez I could pick up off&rsquo;n the groun&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s troubles had crowded out the recollection of this domestic
+duty.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I clean furgot,&rdquo; he admitted, penitently.&nbsp; Then he
+asked suddenly, &ldquo;An&rsquo; whar war Rufe, an&rsquo; Pete, an&rsquo;
+Joe, ez <i>ye</i> hed ter go ter pickin&rsquo; up of chips an&rsquo;
+sech off&rsquo;n the groun&rsquo;?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He turned toward the group of small boys.&nbsp; &ldquo;Air you-uns all
+disabled somehows, ez ye can&rsquo;t pick up chips an&rsquo; bresh an&rsquo;
+sech?&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; ef ye air, whyn&rsquo;t
+ye go ter the tanyard arter me?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;They war all off in the woods, a-lookin&rsquo; arter Rufe&rsquo;s
+trap ez ye sot fur squir&rsquo;ls,&rdquo; Mrs. Dicey explained.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;It hed one in it, an&rsquo; I cooked it fur supper.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt said that he could go out early with his axe and cut enough wood
+for breakfast tomorrow, and then he fell silent.&nbsp; Once or twice
+his preoccupied demeanor called forth comment.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whyn&rsquo;t ye eat some o&rsquo; the squir&rsquo;l, Birt?&rdquo;
+his mother asked at the supper table.&nbsp; &ldquo;Pears-like ter me
+ez it air cooked toler&rsquo;ble tasty.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt could not eat.&nbsp; He soon rose from the table and resumed his
+chair by the window, and for half an hour no word passed between them.<br/>
+<br/>
+The thunder seemed to roll on the very roof of the cabin, and it trembled
+beneath the heavy fall of the rain.&nbsp; At short intervals a terrible
+blue light quivered through crevices in the &ldquo;daubin&rsquo;&rdquo;
+between the logs of the wall, and about the rude shutter which closed
+the glassless window.&nbsp; Now and then a crash from the forest told
+of a riven tree.&nbsp; But the storm had no terrors for the inmates
+of this humble dwelling.&nbsp; Pete and Joe had already gone to bed;
+Tennessee had fallen asleep while playing on the floor, and Rufe dozed
+peacefully in his chair.&nbsp; Even Mrs. Dicey nodded as she knitted,
+the needles sometimes dropping from her nerveless hand.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt silently watched the group for a time in the red light of the smouldering
+fire and the blue flashes from without.&nbsp; At length he softly rose
+and crept noiselessly to the door; the fastening was the primitive latch
+with a string attached; it opened without a sound in his cautious handling,
+and he found himself in the pitchy darkness outside, the wild mountain
+wind whirling about him, and the rain descending in steady torrents.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had stumbled only a few steps from the house when he thought he indistinctly
+heard the door open again.&nbsp; He dreaded his mother&rsquo;s questions,
+but he stopped and looked back.<br/>
+<br/>
+He saw nothing.&nbsp; There was no sound save the roar of the wind,
+the dash of the rain, and the commotion among the branches of the trees.<br/>
+<br/>
+He went on once more, absorbed in his dreary reflections and the fierce
+anger that burned in his heart.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll git even with Nate Griggs,&rdquo; he said, over and
+again.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll git even with him yit.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER VII.<br/>
+<br/>
+When Birt reached the fence, he discovered that the bars were down.&nbsp;
+Rufe had forgotten to replace them that afternoon when he drove in the
+cow to be milked.&nbsp; Despite his absorption, Birt paused to put them
+up, remembering the vagrant mountain cattle that might stray in upon
+the corn.&nbsp; He found the familiar little job difficult enough, for
+it seemed to him that there was never before so black a night.&nbsp;
+Even looking upward, he could not see the great wind-tossed boughs of
+the chestnut-oak above his head.&nbsp; He only knew they were near,
+because acorns dropped upon the rail in his hands, and rebounded resonantly.&nbsp;
+But an owl, blown helplessly down the gale, was not much better off,
+for all its vaunted nocturnal vision.&nbsp; As it drifted by, on the
+currents of the wind, its noiseless, out-stretched wings, vainly flapping,
+struck Birt suddenly in the face, and frightened by the collision, it
+gave an odd, peevish squeak.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, too, was startled for a moment.&nbsp; Then he exclaimed irritably,
+&ldquo;Oh, g&rsquo;way ow<i>el</i>&rdquo; - realizing what had struck
+him.<br/>
+<br/>
+The next moment he paused abruptly.&nbsp; He thought he heard, close
+at hand, amongst the glooms, a faint chuckle.&nbsp; Something - was
+it? - <i>somebody</i> laughing in the darkness?<br/>
+<br/>
+He stood intently listening.&nbsp; But now he heard only the down-pour
+of the rain, the sonorous gusts of the wind, the multitudinous voices
+of the muttering leaves.<br/>
+<br/>
+He said to himself that it was fancy.&nbsp; &ldquo;All this trouble
+ez I hev hed along o&rsquo; Nate Griggs hev mighty nigh addled my brains.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The name recalled his resolve.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll git even with him, though.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ll git even
+with him yit,&rdquo; he reiterated as he plodded on heavily down the
+path, his mind once more busy with all the details of his discovery,
+his misplaced confidence, and the wreck of his hopes.<br/>
+<br/>
+It seemed so hard that he should never before have heard of &ldquo;entering
+land,&rdquo; and of that law of the State according priority to the
+finder of mineral.&nbsp; The mine was his, but he had hid the discovery
+from all but Nate, who claimed it himself, and had secured the legal
+title.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll git even with him,&rdquo; he said resolutely between
+his set teeth.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had thought it a lucky chance to remember, in his reverie before
+the fire-lit hearth, that peg in the shed at the tanyard on which Tim
+had hung his brother&rsquo;s coat.&nbsp; Somehow the episode of the
+afternoon had left so vivid an impression on Birt&rsquo;s mind that
+hours afterward he seemed to see the dull, clouded sky, the sombre,
+encircling woods, the brown stretch of spent tan, the little gray shed,
+and within it, hanging upon a peg, the butternut jeans coat, a stiff
+white paper protruding from its pocket.<br/>
+<br/>
+That grant, he thought, had taken from him his rights.&nbsp; He would
+destroy it - he would tear it into bits, and cast it to the turbulent
+mountain winds.&nbsp; It was not his, to be sure.&nbsp; But was it justly
+Nate&rsquo;s? - he had no right to enter the land down the ravine.<br/>
+<br/>
+And so Birt argued with his conscience.<br/>
+<br/>
+Now wherever Conscience calls a halt, it is no place for Reason to debate
+the question.&nbsp; The way ahead is no thoroughfare.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt did not recognize the tearing of the paper as stealing, but he
+knew that all this was morally wrong, although he would not admit it.&nbsp;
+He would not forego his revenge - it was too dear; he was too deeply
+injured.&nbsp; In the anger that possessed his every faculty, he did
+not appreciate its futility.<br/>
+<br/>
+There were other facts which he did <i>not</i> know.&nbsp; He was ignorant
+that the deed which he contemplated was a crime in the estimation of
+the law, a penitentiary offense.<br/>
+<br/>
+And toward this terrible pitfall he trudged in the darkness, saying
+over and again to himself, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll git even with Nate Griggs;
+he&rsquo;ll hev no grant, no land, no gold - no more &rsquo;n me.&nbsp;
+I&rsquo;ll git even with him.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+His progress seemed incredibly slow as he groped along the path.&nbsp;
+But the rain soon ceased; the wind began to scatter the clouds; through
+a rift he saw a great, glittering planet blazing high above their dark
+turmoils.<br/>
+<br/>
+How the drops pattered down as the wind tossed the laurel! - once they
+sounded like footfalls close behind him.&nbsp; He turned and looked
+back into the obscurities of the forest.&nbsp; Nothing - a frog had
+begun to croak far away, and the vibrations of the katydid were strident
+on the damp air.<br/>
+<br/>
+And here was the tanyard, a denser area of gloom marking where the house
+and shed stood in the darkness.&nbsp; He did not hesitate.&nbsp; He
+stepped over the bars, which lay as usual on the ground, and walked
+across the yard to the shed.&nbsp; The eaves were dripping with moisture.&nbsp;
+But the coat, still hanging within on the peg, was dry.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had a thrill of repulsion when he touched it.&nbsp; His hand fell.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;But look how Nate hev treated me,&rdquo; he remonstrated with
+his conscience.<br/>
+<br/>
+The next moment he had drawn the grant half-way out of the pocket, and
+as he moved he almost stepped upon something close behind him.&nbsp;
+All at once he knew what it was, even before a flash of the distant
+lightning revealed a little tow-head down in the darkness, and a pair
+of black eyes raised to his in perfect confidence.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was the little sister who had followed him to-night, as she always
+did when she could.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Stand back thar, Tennessee!&rdquo; he faltered.<br/>
+<br/>
+He was trembling from head to foot.&nbsp; And yet Tennessee was far
+too young to tell that she had seen the grant in his hands, to understand,
+even to question.&nbsp; But had he been seized by the whole Griggs tribe,
+he could not have been so panic-stricken as he was by the sight of that
+unknowing little head, the touch of the chubby little hand on his knee.<br/>
+<br/>
+He thrust the grant back into the pocket of Nate&rsquo;s coat.&nbsp;
+His resolve was routed by the presence of love and innocence.&nbsp;
+Not here - not now could he be vindictive, malicious.&nbsp; With some
+urgent, inborn impulse strongly constraining him, he caught the little
+sister in his arms, and fled headlong through the darkness, homeward.<br/>
+<br/>
+As he went he was amazed that he should have contemplated this revenge.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Why, I can&rsquo;t afford ter be a scoundrel an&rsquo; sech,
+jes&rsquo; &rsquo;kase Nate Griggs air a tricky feller an&rsquo; hev
+fooled me.&nbsp; Ef Tennessee hedn&rsquo;t stepped up so powerful peart
+I moughtn&rsquo;t hev come ter my senses in time.&nbsp; I mought hev
+tore up Nate&rsquo;s grant by now.&nbsp; But arter this I ain&rsquo;t
+never goin&rsquo; ter set out ter act like a scamp jes&rsquo; &rsquo;kase
+somebody else does.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+His conscience had prevailed, his better self returned.&nbsp; And when
+he reached home, and opening the door saw his mother still nodding over
+her knitting, and Rufe asleep in his chair, and the fire smouldering
+on the hearth, all as he had left it, he might have thought that he
+had dreamed the temptation and his rescue, but for his dripping garments
+and Tennessee in his arms all soaking with the rain.<br/>
+<br/>
+The noise of his entrance roused his mother, who stared in drowsy astonishment
+at the bedraggled apparition on the threshold.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tennie follered me ter the tanyard &rsquo;fore I fund her out,&rdquo;
+Birt explained.&nbsp; &ldquo;It &rsquo;pears ter hev rained on her,
+considerable,&rdquo; he added deprecatingly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tennie was looking eagerly over her shoulder to note the effect of this
+statement.&nbsp; Her streaming hair flirted drops of water on the floor;
+her cheeks were ruddy; her black eyes brightened with apprehension.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, sir! that thar child beats all.&nbsp; Never mind, Tennie,
+ye&rsquo;ll meet up with a wild varmint some day when ye air follerin&rsquo;
+Birt off from the house, an&rsquo; I ain&rsquo;t surprised none ef it
+eats ye!&nbsp; But shucks!&rdquo; Mrs. Dicey continued impersonally,
+&ldquo;I mought ez well save my breath; Tennie ain&rsquo;t feared o&rsquo;
+nuthin&rsquo;, ef Birt air by.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The word &ldquo;varmint&rdquo; seemed to recall something to Tennessee.&nbsp;
+She began to chatter unintelligibly about an &ldquo;ow<i>el</i>,&rdquo;
+and to chuckle so, that Birt had sudden light upon that mysterious laugh
+which he had heard behind him at the bars.<br/>
+<br/>
+In his pride in Tennessee he related how the owl had startled him, and
+the little girl, invisible in the darkness, had laughed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tennessee ain&rsquo;t pretty, I know, but she air powerful peart,&rdquo;
+he said, affectionately, as he placed her upon her feet on the floor.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt was out early with his axe the next day.&nbsp; The air was delightfully
+pure after the rain-storm; the sky, gradually becoming visible, wore
+the ideal azure; the freshened foliage seemed tinted anew.&nbsp; And
+the morning was pierced by the gilded, glittering javelins of the sunrise,
+flung from over the misty eastern mountains.&nbsp; As the day dawned
+all sylvan fascinations were alert in the woods.&nbsp; The fragrant
+winds were garrulous with wild legends of piney gorges; of tumultuous
+cascades fringed by thyme and mint and ferns.&nbsp; Every humble weed
+lent odorous suggestions.&nbsp; The airy things all took to wing.&nbsp;
+And the spider was a-weaving.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt had felled a slender young ash, and was cutting it into lengths
+for the fireplace, when he noticed a squirrel, sleek woodland dandy,
+frisking about a rotten log at some little distance, by the roadside.<br/>
+<br/>
+Suddenly the squirrel paused, then nimbly sped away.&nbsp; There was
+the sound of approaching hoofs along the road, and presently from around
+the curve a woman appeared mounted on a sorrel mare, and with a long-legged
+colt ambling in the rear.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was Mrs. Griggs, setting out on a journey of some ten miles to visit
+her married daughter who lived on a neighboring spur.&nbsp; She had
+taken an early start to &ldquo;git rid o&rsquo; the heat o&rsquo; the
+noon,&rdquo; as she explained to Mrs. Dicey, who had run out to the
+rail fence when she reined up beside it.&nbsp; Birt dropped his axe
+and joined them, expecting to hear more about Nate&rsquo;s grant and
+the gold mine.&nbsp; Rufe and Tennessee added their company without
+any definite intention.&nbsp; Pete and Joe were hurrying out of the
+house toward the group.&nbsp; All the dogs congregated, some of them
+climbing over the fence to investigate the colt, which was skittish
+under the ordeal.&nbsp; Even the turkey-gobbler, strutting on the outskirts
+of the assemblage, had an attentive aspect, as if he, too, relished
+the gossip.<br/>
+<br/>
+Mrs. Griggs&rsquo;s pink calico sunbonnet surmounted the cap with the
+explanatory ruffle.&nbsp; She carried a fan of turkey feathers, and
+with appropriate gesticulation, it aided in expounding to Mrs. Dicey
+the astonishing news that Nate had found a gold mine on vacant land,
+and had entered the tract.&nbsp; They intended to send specimens to
+the State Assayer, and they were all getting ready to begin work at
+once.<br/>
+<br/>
+Another surprise to Birt!&nbsp; The ignorant mountain boy had never
+heard of the Assayer.&nbsp; But indeed Nate had only learned of the
+existence of the office and its uses during that memorable trip to Sparta.<br/>
+<br/>
+The prideful Mrs. Griggs from her elevation, literal and metaphorical,
+supplemented all this by the creditable statements that Nate had turned
+twenty-one, had cast his vote, and had a right to a choice at the Cross-roads.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then she chirruped to the rawboned sorrel mare, and jogged off down
+the road, followed by the frisky colt, whose long, slender legs when
+in motion seemed so fragile that it was startling to witness the temerity
+with which he kicked up his frolicsome heels.&nbsp; The dogs, with that
+odd canine affectation of having just perceived the intruders, pursued
+them with sudden asperity, barking and snapping, and at last came trotting
+nimbly home, wagging their tails and with a dutiful mien.<br/>
+<br/>
+Mrs. Dicey went back into the house, and sat for a time in envious meditation,
+fairly silenced, and with her apron flung over her face.&nbsp; Then
+she fell to lamenting that she had been working all her life for nothing,
+and it would take so little to make the family comfortable, and that
+her children seemed &ldquo;disabled somehow in thar heads, an&rsquo;
+though always rootin&rsquo; around in the woods, hed never fund no gold
+mine nor nuthin&rsquo; else out o&rsquo; the common.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt kept silent, but the gloom and trouble in his face suddenly touched
+her heart.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Thar now, Birt!&rdquo; she exclaimed, with a world of consolation
+in her tones, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean ter say that, nuther.&nbsp;
+Ain&rsquo;t I a-thinkin&rsquo; day an&rsquo; night o&rsquo; how smart
+ye be - stiddy an&rsquo; sensible an&rsquo; hard-workin&rsquo; jes&rsquo;
+like a man - an&rsquo; what a good son ye hev been to me!&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+the t&rsquo;other chill&rsquo;n air good too, an&rsquo; holps me powerful,
+though Rufe air hendered some, by the comical natur o&rsquo; the critter.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+She broke out with a cheerful laugh, in which Birt could not join.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; I mus&rsquo; be gittin&rsquo; breakfus fur the chill&rsquo;n,&rdquo;
+she said, kneeling down on the hearth, and uncovering the embers which
+had been kept all night under the ashes.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t ye fret, sonny.&nbsp; I ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter
+grudge Nate his gold mine.&nbsp; I reckon sech a good son ez ye be,
+an&rsquo; a gold mine too, would be too much luck fur one woman.&nbsp;
+Don&rsquo;t ye fret, sonny.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s self-control gave way abruptly.&nbsp; He rose in great
+agitation, and started toward the door.&nbsp; Then he paused, and broke
+forth with passionate incoherence, telling amidst sobs and tears the
+story of the woodland&rsquo;s munificence to him, and how he had flung
+the gift away.<br/>
+<br/>
+In recounting the hopes that had deluded him, the fears that had gnawed,
+and the despair in which they were at last merged, he did not notice,
+for a time, her look as she still knelt motionless before the embers
+on the hearth.<br/>
+<br/>
+He faltered, and grew silent; then stared dumbly at her.<br/>
+<br/>
+She seemed as one petrified.&nbsp; Her face had blanched; its lines
+were as sharp and distinct as if graven in stone; only her eyes spoke,
+an eloquent anguish.&nbsp; Her faculties were numbed for a moment.&nbsp;
+But presently there was a quiver in her chin, and her voice rang out.<br/>
+<br/>
+And yet did she understand? did she realize the loss of the mine?&nbsp;
+For it was not this that she lamented<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Birt Dicey!&rdquo; she cried in an appalled tone.&nbsp; &ldquo;Did
+ye hide it from yer <i>mother</i> - an&rsquo; tell <i>Nate Griggs</i>?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt hung his head.&nbsp; The folly of it!<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What ailed ye, ter hide it from me?&rdquo; she asked deprecatingly,
+holding out her worn, hard-working hands.&nbsp; &ldquo;Hev I ever done
+ye harm?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Nuthin&rsquo; but good.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t everybody know a boy&rsquo;s mother air bound ter
+take his part agin all the worl&rsquo;?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Everybody but me,&rdquo; said the penitent Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What ailed ye, ter hide it from me?&nbsp; What did ye &rsquo;low
+I&rsquo;d do?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I &rsquo;lowed ye wouldn&rsquo;t want me ter go pardners with
+Nate,&rdquo; he said drearily.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I reckon I wouldn&rsquo;t!&rdquo; she admitted.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye always said he war a snake in the grass.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He hev proved that air a true word.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I wisht I hedn&rsquo;t tole him!&rdquo; cried Birt vainly.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I wisht I hedn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He watched her with moody eyes as she rose at last with a sigh and went
+mechanically about her preparations for breakfast.<br/>
+<br/>
+There was a division between them.&nbsp; He felt the gulf widening.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I jes&rsquo; wanted it fur you-uns, ennyhow,&rdquo; he said,
+defending his motives.&nbsp; &ldquo;I &rsquo;lowed ez I mought make
+enough out&rsquo;n it ter buy a horse.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I hain&rsquo;t got time ter sorrow &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n no gold
+mine,&rdquo; she said loftily.&nbsp; &ldquo;I used ter believe ye set
+a heap o&rsquo; store by yer mother, an&rsquo; war willin&rsquo; ter
+trust her - ye an&rsquo; me hevin&rsquo; been through mighty hard times
+together.&nbsp; But ye don&rsquo;t - I reckon ye never did.&nbsp; I
+hev los&rsquo; mo&rsquo; than enny gold mine.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+And this sorrow for a vanished faith resolved itself into tears with
+which she salted her humble bread.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER VIII.<br/>
+<br/>
+If she had had any relish for triumph, she might have found it in Birt&rsquo;s
+astonishment to learn that she understood all the details of entering
+land, which had been such a mystery to him.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Twar the commonest thing in the worl&rsquo;, whenst I
+war young, ter hear &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n folks enterin&rsquo; land,&rdquo;
+she said.&nbsp; &ldquo;But nowadays thar ain&rsquo;t no talk &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n
+it sca&rsquo;cely, &rsquo;kase the best an&rsquo; most o&rsquo; the
+land in the State hev all been tuk up an&rsquo; entered - &rsquo;ceptin&rsquo;
+mebbe a trac&rsquo;, hyar an&rsquo; thar, full o&rsquo; rock, an&rsquo;
+so steep &rsquo;t ain&rsquo;t wuth payin&rsquo; the taxes on.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Simple as she was, she could have given him valuable counsel when it
+was sorely needed.&nbsp; He hung about the house later than was his
+wont, bringing in the store of wood for her work during the day, and
+&ldquo;packing&rdquo; the water from the spring, with the impulse in
+his attention to these little duties to make what amends he might.<br/>
+<br/>
+When at last he started for the tanyard, he knew by the sun that he
+was long over-due.&nbsp; He walked briskly along the path through the
+sassafras and sumach bushes, on which the rain-drops still clung.&nbsp;
+He was presently brushing them off in showers, for he had begun to run.&nbsp;
+It occurred to him that this was no time to seem even a trifle remiss
+in his work at the tanyard.&nbsp; Since he had lost all his hopes down
+the ravine, the continuance of Jube Perkins&rsquo;s favor and the dreary
+routine with the mule and the bark-mill were his best prospects.&nbsp;
+It would never do to offend the tanner now.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;With sech a pack o&rsquo; chill&rsquo;n ter vittle ez we-uns
+hev got at our house,&rdquo; he muttered.<br/>
+<br/>
+As he came crashing through the underbrush into view of the tanyard,
+he noticed instantly that it did not wear its usual simple, industrial
+aspect.&nbsp; A group of excited men were standing in front of the shed,
+one of them gesticulating wildly.<br/>
+<br/>
+And running toward the bars came Tim Griggs, panting and white-faced,
+and exclaiming incoherently at the sight of Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Oh, Birt,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;I war jes&rsquo; startin&rsquo;
+to yer house arter you-uns; they tole me to go an&rsquo; fetch ye.&nbsp;
+Fur massy&rsquo;s sake, gimme Nate&rsquo;s grant.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m fairly
+afeared o&rsquo; him.&nbsp; He&rsquo;ll break every bone I own.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+He held out his hand.&nbsp; &ldquo;Gimme the grant!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Nate&rsquo;s grant!&rdquo; exclaimed Birt aghast.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+hain&rsquo;t got it!&nbsp; I hain&rsquo;t&rdquo; -<br/>
+<br/>
+He paused abruptly.&nbsp; He could not say that he had not touched it.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tim&rsquo;s wits were sharpened by the keen anxiety of the crisis.&nbsp;
+He noticed the hesitation.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye hev hed it,&rdquo; he cried
+wildly.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye know ye hev been foolin&rsquo; with it.&nbsp;
+Ye know &rsquo;twar you-uns!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He changed to sudden appeal.&nbsp; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t put the blame
+off on me, Birt,&rdquo; he pleaded.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m fairly afeared
+o&rsquo; Nate.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t the grant in the pocket o&rsquo; his coat - whar
+ye left it hangin&rsquo; on a peg in the shed?&rdquo; asked Birt, dismayed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw - naw!&rdquo; exclaimed Tim, despairingly.&nbsp; &ldquo;He
+missed his coat this mornin&rsquo;, bein&rsquo; the weather war cooler,
+an&rsquo; then the grant, an&rsquo; he sent me arter it.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+I fund the coat a-hangin&rsquo; thar on the peg, whar I hed lef&rsquo;
+it, bein&rsquo; ez I furgot it when I went off with Rufe ter look at
+his chickens, an&rsquo; the pocket war empty an&rsquo; the paper gone!&nbsp;
+Nate hev kem ter sarch, too!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Once more he held out his hand.&nbsp; &ldquo;Gimme the grant.&nbsp;
+Nate &rsquo;lows &rsquo;twar you-uns ez tuk it, bein&rsquo; ez I lef&rsquo;
+it hyar.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt flushed angrily.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll say a word ter Nate Griggs!&rdquo;
+he declared.<br/>
+<br/>
+And he pushed past the trembling Tim, and took his way briskly into
+the tanyard.<br/>
+<br/>
+There was a vague murmur in the group as he approached, and Nate Griggs
+came out from its midst, nodding his head threateningly.&nbsp; His hat,
+thrust far back on his sandy hair, left in bold relief his long, thin
+face with its small eyes, which seemed now so close together that his
+glance had the effect of a squint.&nbsp; He scanned Birt narrowly.<br/>
+<br/>
+This was the first time the two had met since Birt&rsquo;s ill-starred
+confidence there by the bark-mill.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What ails ye, ter &rsquo;low ez it air <i>me</i> ez hev got yer
+grant, Nate Griggs?&rdquo; Birt asked, steadily meeting the accusation.<br/>
+<br/>
+The excitement had impaired for the moment Nate Griggs&rsquo;s cunning.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Kase,&rdquo; he blurted out, &ldquo;ye hev been a-tryin&rsquo;
+ter purtend ez ye fund the mine fust, an&rsquo; hev been a-tellin&rsquo;
+folks &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Prove it,&rdquo; said Birt, in sudden elation.&nbsp; &ldquo;Who
+war it I tole, an&rsquo; when?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The sly Nathan caught his breath with a gasp.&nbsp; His craft had returned.<br/>
+<br/>
+Admit that to <i>him</i> Birt had divulged the discovery of the mine!&nbsp;
+Confess, when!&nbsp; This would invalidate the entry!<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye tole <i>Tim</i>,&rdquo; Nate said shamelessly, &ldquo;an&rsquo;
+ez ter when - &rsquo;twar yestiddy evenin&rsquo; at the tanyard.&nbsp;
+Didn&rsquo;t he, Tim?&rdquo;&nbsp; And he whirled around to his younger
+brother for confirmation of this audacious and deliberate falsehood.<br/>
+<br/>
+The abject Tim - poor tool! - frightened and cowering, nodded to admit
+it.&nbsp; &ldquo;Gimme the grant, Birt,&rdquo; he faltered, helplessly.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I oughtn&rsquo;t ter hev furgot it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Look-a-hyar, Birt,&rdquo; said the tanner with a solemnity which
+the boy did not altogether understand, &ldquo;gin Nate the grant.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I hain&rsquo;t got it,&rdquo; replied Birt, badgered and growing
+nervous.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tell him, then, ye never teched it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s impulse was to adopt the word.&nbsp; But he had seen enough
+of falsehood.&nbsp; He had done with concealment.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I did tech it,&rdquo; he said boldly, &ldquo;but I hain&rsquo;t
+got it.&nbsp; I put it back in the pocket o&rsquo; the coat.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Jube Perkins laid a sudden hand upon his collar.&nbsp; &ldquo;&lsquo;Tain&rsquo;t
+no use denyin&rsquo; it, Birt,&rdquo; he said with the sharp cadence
+of dismay.&nbsp; &ldquo;Gin the grant back ter Nate, an&rsquo; mebbe
+he won&rsquo;t go no furder &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n it.&nbsp; Stealin&rsquo;
+a paper like that air a pen&rsquo;tiary crime!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt reeled under the word.&nbsp; He thought of his mother, the children.&nbsp;
+He had a bitter foretaste of the suspense, the fear, the humiliation.&nbsp;
+And he was helpless.&nbsp; For no one would believe him!&nbsp; His head
+was in a whirl.&nbsp; He could not stand.&nbsp; He sank down upon the
+wood-pile, vaguely hearing a word here and there of what was said in
+the crowd.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;His mother air a widder-woman,&rdquo; remarked one of the group.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; she air mighty poor.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers was laughing cynically.<br/>
+<br/>
+Absorbed though he was, Birt experienced a subacute wonder that any
+one could feel so bitterly toward him as to laugh at a moment like this.&nbsp;
+How had he made Andy Byers his enemy!<br/>
+<br/>
+Nobody noticed it, for Nate was swaggering about in the crowd, enjoying
+this conspicuous opportunity to display all the sophistications he had
+acquired in his recent trip to Sparta.&nbsp; He was calling upon them
+to witness that he did not care for the loss of the grant - the <i>paper</i>
+was nothing to him! - for it was on record in the land office, and he
+could get a certified copy from the register in no time at all.&nbsp;
+But his rights were his <i>rights</i>! - and ten thousand Diceys should
+not trample on them.&nbsp; Birt had doubtless thought, being ignorant,
+that he could destroy the title by making away with the paper; and if
+there was law in the State, he should suffer for it.<br/>
+<br/>
+And after this elaborate rodomontade, Nate strode out of the tanyard,
+with the obsequious Tim following humbly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt told his story again and again, to satisfy curious questioners
+during the days that ensued.&nbsp; And when he had finished they would
+look significantly at one another, and chuckle incredulously.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner seemed to earnestly wish to befriend him, and urged him to
+confess.&nbsp; &ldquo;The truth&rsquo;s the only thing ez kin save ye,
+Birt.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m tellin&rsquo; the truth,&rdquo; poor Birt would declare.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then Jube Perkins argued the question: &ldquo;How kin ye expec&rsquo;
+ennybody ter b&rsquo;lieve ye when ye say Tennessee purvented ye from
+takin&rsquo; the grant - ennything the size o&rsquo; leetle Tennie,
+thar.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+And he pointed at the little sister, who was perched upon the wood-pile
+munching an Indian peach.<br/>
+<br/>
+Somehow Birt did not accurately define the moral force which she had
+wielded, for he was untaught, and clumsy of speech, and could not translate
+his feelings.&nbsp; And Jube Perkins was hardly fitted to understand
+that subtle coercion of affection.<br/>
+<br/>
+When he found that Birt would only reiterate that Tennie &ldquo;kem
+along unbeknown an&rsquo; purvented&rdquo; him, Jube Perkins gave up
+the effort at last, convinced of his guilt.<br/>
+<br/>
+And Andy Byers said that he was not surprised, for he had known for
+some little time that Birt was a &ldquo;most <i>mischievious</i> scamp.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Only his mother believed in him, requiting his lack of confidence in
+her with a fervor of faith in him that, while it consoled, nevertheless
+cut him to the heart.&nbsp; It has been many years since then, for all
+this happened along in the fifties, but Birt has never forgotten how
+staunchly she upheld him in every thought when all the circumstances
+belied him.&nbsp; Now that misfortune had touched him, every trace of
+her caustic moods had disappeared; she was all gentleness and tenderness
+toward him.&nbsp; And day by day as he went to his work, meeting everywhere
+a short word, or a slighting look, he felt that he could not have borne
+up, save for the knowledge of that loyal heart at home.<br/>
+<br/>
+He was momently in terror of arrest, and he often pondered on Nate&rsquo;s
+uncharacteristic forbearance.&nbsp; Perhaps Nate was afraid that Birt&rsquo;s
+story, told from the beginning in court, might constrain belief and
+affect the validity of the entry.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt vainly speculated, too, upon the strange disappearance of the grant.&nbsp;
+There it was in the pocket of the coat late that night, and the next
+morning early - gone!<br/>
+<br/>
+Sometimes he suspected that Nate had only made a pretense of losing
+the grant, in order to accuse him and prejudice public opinion against
+him, so that he might not be believed should he claim the discovery
+of the mineral down the ravine.<br/>
+<br/>
+His mother sought to keep him from dwelling upon his troubles.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;We won&rsquo;t cross the bredge till we git thar,&rdquo; she
+said.&nbsp; &ldquo;Mebbe thar ain&rsquo;t none ahead.&rdquo;&nbsp; But
+her fears for his sake tortured her silent hours when he was away.&nbsp;
+When he came back from his work, there always awaited him a bright fire,
+a good supper, and cheerful words as well, although these were the most
+difficult to prepare.&nbsp; The dogs bounded about him, Tennessee clung
+to his hand, the boys were hilarious and loud.<br/>
+<br/>
+By reason of their mother&rsquo;s silence on the subject, that Birt
+might be better able to go, and work, and hold up his head among the
+men who suspected him, the children for a time knew nothing of what
+had happened.<br/>
+<br/>
+Now Rufe, although his faults were many and conspicuous, was not lacking
+in natural affection.&nbsp; Had he understood that a cloud overhung
+Birt, he could not have been so merry, so facetious, so queerly and
+quaintly bad as he was on his visits to the tanyard, which were peculiarly
+frequent just now.&nbsp; If Birt had had the heart for it, he might
+have enjoyed some of Rufe&rsquo;s pranks at the expense of Andy Byers.&nbsp;
+The man had once found a sort of entertainment in making fun of Rufe,
+and this had encouraged the small boy to retaliate as best he could.<br/>
+<br/>
+At this time, however, Byers suddenly became the gravest of men.&nbsp;
+He took little notice of the wiles of his elfish antagonist, and whenever
+he fell into a snare devised by Rufe, he was irritable for a moment,
+and had forgotten it the next.&nbsp; He had never a word or glance for
+Birt, who marveled at his conduct.&nbsp; He seemed perpetually brooding
+upon some perplexity.&nbsp; Occasionally in the midst of his work he
+would stand motionless for five minutes, the two-handled knife poised
+in his grasp, his eyes fixed upon the ground, his shaggy brows heavily
+knitted, his expression doubting, anxious.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner commented upon this inactivity, one day.&nbsp; &ldquo;Hev
+ye tuk root thar, Andy?&rdquo; he asked.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers roused himself with a start.&nbsp; &ldquo;Naw,&rdquo; he replied
+reflectively, &ldquo;but I hev been troubled in my mind some, lately,
+an&rsquo; I gits ter studyin&rsquo; powerful wunst in a while.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+As he bent to his work, scraping the two-handled knife up and down the
+hide stretched over the wooden horse, he added, &ldquo;I hev got so
+ez I can&rsquo;t relish my vittles sca&rsquo;cely, bein&rsquo; so tormented
+in my mind, an&rsquo; my sleep air plumb broke up; &rsquo;pears like
+ter me ez I hev got a reg&rsquo;lar gift fur the nightmare.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Been skeered by old Mis&rsquo; Price&rsquo;s harnt lately?&rdquo;
+Rufe asked suddenly from his perch upon the wood-pile.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers whirled round abruptly, fixing an astonished gaze upon Rufe, unmindful
+that the knife slipped from his grasp, and fell clanking upon the ground.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER IX.<br/>
+<br/>
+This grave, eager gaze Rufe returned with the gayest audacity.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Been skeered by old Mis&rsquo; Price&rsquo;s harnt lately?&rdquo;
+he once more chirped out gleefully.<br/>
+<br/>
+He was comical enough, as he sat on the top of the wood-pile, hugging
+his knees with both arms, his old, bent, wool hat perched on the back
+of his tow head, and all his jagged squirrel teeth showing themselves,
+unabashed, in a wide grin.<br/>
+<br/>
+Jubal Perkins laughed lazily, as he looked at him.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then, with that indulgence which Rufe always met at the tanyard, and
+which served to make him so pert and forward, the tanner said, humoring
+the privileged character, &ldquo;What be you-uns a-talkin&rsquo; &rsquo;bout,
+boy?&nbsp; Mrs. Price ain&rsquo;t dead.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>He</i> hev viewed old Mis&rsquo; Price&rsquo;s harnt,&rdquo;
+cried Rufe, pointing at Andy Byers, with a jocosely crooked finger.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;<i>He</i> air so peart an&rsquo; forehanded a-viewin&rsquo; harnts,
+he don&rsquo;t hev to wait till folkses be dead.&nbsp; <i>He</i> hev
+seen Mis&rsquo; Price&rsquo;s harnt - an&rsquo; it plumb skeered the
+wits out&rsquo;n him.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Perkins did not understand this.&nbsp; His interest was suddenly alert.&nbsp;
+He took his pipe from his mouth, and glanced over his shoulder at Byers.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What air Rufe aimin&rsquo; at, Andy?&rdquo; he asked, surprised.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers did not reply.&nbsp; He still gazed steadfastly at Rufe; the knife
+lay unheeded on the ground at his feet, and the hide was slipping from
+the wooden horse.<br/>
+<br/>
+At last he said slowly, &ldquo;Birt tole ye &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n it,
+eh?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw, sir!&nbsp; Naw!&rdquo;&nbsp; Rufe rocked himself fantastically
+to and fro in imminent peril of toppling off the wood-pile.&nbsp; &ldquo;&lsquo;Twar
+Tom Byers ez tole me.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>Tom</i>!&rdquo; exclaimed Byers, with a galvanic start.<br/>
+<br/>
+For Tom was his son, and he had not suspected filial treachery in the
+matter of the spectral blackberry bush.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe stared in his turn, not comprehending Byers&rsquo;s surprise.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>Tom</i>,&rdquo; he reiterated presently, with mocking explicitness.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Tom Byers - I reckon ye knows him.&nbsp; That thar freckled-faced,
+snaggled-toothed, red-headed Tom Byers, ez lives at yer house.&nbsp;
+I reckon ye <i>mus</i>&rsquo; know him.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tom tole ye - <i>what</i>?&rdquo; asked the tanner, puzzled by
+Byers&rsquo;s grave, anxious face, and Rufe&rsquo;s mysterious sneers.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe broke into the liveliest cackle.&nbsp; &ldquo;Tom, he &rsquo;lowed
+ter me ez he war tucked up in the trundle-bed, fast asleep, that night
+when his dad got home from old Mis&rsquo; Price&rsquo;s house, whar
+he had been ter hear her las&rsquo; words.&nbsp; Tom, he &rsquo;lowed
+he war dreamin&rsquo; ez his gran&rsquo;dad hed gin him a calf - Tom
+say the calf war spotted red an&rsquo; white - an&rsquo; jes&rsquo;
+ez he war a-leadin&rsquo; it home with him, his dad kem racin&rsquo;
+inter the house with sech a rumpus ez woke him up, an&rsquo; he never
+got the calf along no furder than the turn in the road.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+thar sot his dad in the cheer, declarin&rsquo; fur true ez he hed seen
+old Mis&rsquo; Price&rsquo;s harnt in the woods, an&rsquo; b&rsquo;lieved
+she mus&rsquo; be dead afore now.&nbsp; An&rsquo; though thar war a
+right smart fire on the h&rsquo;a&rsquo;th, he war shiverin&rsquo; an&rsquo;
+shakin&rsquo; over it, jes&rsquo; the same ez ef he war out at the wood-pile,
+pickin&rsquo; up chips on a frosty mornin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+And Rufe crouched over, shivering in every limb, in equally excellent
+mimicry of a ghost-seer, or an unwilling chip-picker under stress of
+weather.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;My!&rdquo; he exclaimed with a fresh burst of laughter; &ldquo;whenst
+Tom tole me &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n it I war so tickled I war feared I&rsquo;d
+fall.&nbsp; I los&rsquo; the use o&rsquo; my tongue.&nbsp; I couldn&rsquo;t
+stop laffin&rsquo; long enough ter tell Tom what I war laffin&rsquo;
+at.&nbsp; An&rsquo; ez Tom knowed I war snake-bit las&rsquo; June, he
+went home an&rsquo; tole his mother ez the p&rsquo;ison hed done teched
+me in the head, an&rsquo; said he reckoned, ef the truth war knowed,
+I hed fits ez a constancy.&nbsp; I say - <i>fits</i>!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Once more the bewildered tanner glanced from one to the other.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Why, ye never tole me ez ye hed seen su&rsquo;thin&rsquo; strange
+in the woods, Andy,&rdquo; he exclaimed, feeling aggrieved, thus balked
+of a sensation.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; the old woman ain&rsquo;t dead,
+nohow,&rdquo; he continued reasonably, &ldquo;but air strengthenin&rsquo;
+up amazin&rsquo; fast.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal,&rdquo; put in Rufe, hastening to explain this discrepancy
+in the spectre, &ldquo;I hearn you-uns a-sayin&rsquo; that mornin&rsquo;,
+fore ye set out from the tanyard, ez she war mighty nigh dead an&rsquo;
+would be gone &rsquo;fore night.&nbsp; An&rsquo; ez he hed tole me he&rsquo;d
+skeer the wits out&rsquo;n me, I &rsquo;lowed ez I could show him ez
+his wits warn&rsquo;t ez tough ez mine.&nbsp; Though,&rdquo; added the
+roguish Rufe, with a grin of enjoyment, &ldquo;arter I hed dressed up
+the blackberry bush in mam&rsquo;s apron an&rsquo; shawl, an&rsquo;
+sot her bonnet a-top, it tuk ter noddin&rsquo; and bowin&rsquo; with
+the wind, an&rsquo; looked so like folks, ez it gin <i>Me</i> a skeer,
+an&rsquo; I jes&rsquo; run home ez hard ez I could travel.&nbsp; An
+Towse, he barked at it!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers spoke suddenly.&nbsp; &ldquo;Waal, Birt holped ye, then.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He never!&rdquo; cried Rufe, emphatically, unwilling to share
+the credit, or perhaps discredit, of the enterprise.&nbsp; &ldquo;Birt
+dunno nuthin&rsquo; &rsquo;bout it ter this good day.&rdquo;&nbsp; Rufe
+winked slyly.&nbsp; &ldquo;Birt would tell mam ez I hed been a-foolin&rsquo;
+with her shawl an&rsquo; bonnet.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers still maintained a most incongruous gravity.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;It warn&rsquo;t Birt&rsquo;s doin&rsquo;, at all?&rdquo; he said
+interrogatively, and with a pondering aspect.<br/>
+<br/>
+Jubal Perkins broke into a derisive guffaw.&nbsp; &ldquo;What ails ye,
+Andy?&rdquo; he cried.&nbsp; &ldquo;Though ye never seen no harnt, ye
+&rsquo;pear ter be fairly witched by that thar tricked-out blackberry
+bush.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe shrugged up his shoulders, and began to shiver in imaginary terror
+over a fancied fire.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Old - Mis&rsquo; - Price&rsquo;s - harnt!&rdquo; he wheezed.<br/>
+<br/>
+The point of view makes an essential difference.&nbsp; Jube Perkins
+thought Rufe&rsquo;s comicality most praiseworthy - his pipe went out
+while he laughed.&nbsp; Byers flushed indignantly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye aggervatin&rsquo; leetle varmint!&rdquo; he cried suddenly,
+his patience giving way.<br/>
+<br/>
+He seized the crouching mimic by the collar, and although he did not
+literally knock him off the wood-pile, as Rufe afterward declared, he
+assisted the small boy through the air with a celerity that caused Rufe
+to wink very fast and catch his breath, when he was deposited, with
+a shake, on the soft pile of ground bark some yards away.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe was altogether unhurt, but a trifle subdued by this sudden aerial
+excursion.&nbsp; The fun was over for the present.&nbsp; He gathered
+himself together, and went demurely and sat down on the lowest log of
+the wood-pile.&nbsp; After a little he produced a papaw from his pocket,
+and by the manner in which they went to work upon it, his jagged squirrel
+teeth showed that they were better than they looked.<br/>
+<br/>
+Towse had followed his master to the tanyard, and was lying asleep beside
+the woodpile, with his muzzle on his forepaws.<br/>
+<br/>
+He roused himself suddenly at the sound of munching, and came and sat
+upright, facing Rufe, and eyeing the papaw gloatingly.&nbsp; He wagged
+his tail in a beguiling fashion, and now and then turned his head blandishingly
+askew.<br/>
+<br/>
+Of course he would not have relished the papaw, and only begged as a
+matter of habit or perhaps on principle; but he was given no opportunity
+to sample it, for Rufe hardly noticed him, being absorbed in dubiously
+watching Andy Byers, who was once more at work, scraping the hide with
+the two-handled knife.<br/>
+<br/>
+Jubal Perkins had gone into the house for a coal to re-kindle his pipe,
+for there is always a smouldering fire in the &ldquo;smoke-room&rdquo;
+for the purpose of drying the hides suspended from the rafters.&nbsp;
+He came out with it freshly glowing, and sat down on the broad, high
+pile of wood.<br/>
+<br/>
+As the first whiff of smoke wreathed over his head, he said, &ldquo;What
+air the differ ter ye, Andy, whether &rsquo;t war bub, hyar, or Birt,
+ez dressed up the blackberry bush? ye &rsquo;pear ter make a differ
+a-twixt &rsquo;em.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Still Byers was evasive.&nbsp; &ldquo;Whar&rsquo;s Birt, ennyhow?&rdquo;
+he demanded irrelevantly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal,&rdquo; drawled the tanner, with a certain constraint, &ldquo;I
+hed been promisin&rsquo; Birt a day off fur a right smart while, an&rsquo;
+I tole him ez he mought ez well hev the rest o&rsquo; ter-day.&nbsp;
+He &rsquo;lowed ez he warn&rsquo;t partic&rsquo;lar &rsquo;bout a day
+off, now.&nbsp; But I tole him ennyhow ter go along.&nbsp; I seen him
+a while ago passin&rsquo; through the woods, with his rifle on his shoulder
+- gone huntin&rsquo;, I reckon.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>Gone huntin</i>&rsquo;!&rdquo; ejaculated Rufe in dudgeon,
+joining unceremoniously in the conversation of his elders.&nbsp; &ldquo;Now,
+Birt mought hev let me know!&nbsp; I&rsquo;d hev wanted ter go along
+too.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Mebbe that air the reason he never tole ye, bub,&rdquo; said
+Perkins dryly.<br/>
+<br/>
+For he could appreciate that Rufe&rsquo;s society was not always a boon,
+although he took a lenient view of the little boy.&nbsp; Any indulgence
+of Birt was more unusual, and Andy Byers experienced some surprise to
+hear of the unwonted sylvan recreations of the young drudge.&nbsp; He
+noticed that the mule was off duty too, grazing among the bushes just
+beyond the fence, and hobbled so that he could not run away.&nbsp; This
+precaution might have seemed a practical joke on the mule, for the poor
+old animal was only too glad to stand stock still.<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe continued his exclamatory indignation.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Jes&rsquo; ter go lopin&rsquo; off inter the woods huntin&rsquo;,
+&rsquo;thout lettin&rsquo; <i>Me</i> know!&nbsp; An&rsquo; I never gits
+ter go huntin&rsquo; nohow!&nbsp; An&rsquo; mam won&rsquo;t let me tech
+Birt&rsquo;s rifle, &rsquo;thout it air ez empty ez a gourd!&nbsp; She
+say she air feared I&rsquo;ll shoot my head off, an&rsquo; she don&rsquo;t
+want no boys, &rsquo;thout heads, jouncin&rsquo; round her house - shucks!&nbsp;
+Which way did Birt take, Mister Perkins? - &rsquo;kase I be goin&rsquo;
+ter ketch up.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;He war headed fur that thar salt lick, whenst I las&rsquo; seen
+him,&rdquo; replied the tanner; &ldquo;ef ye stir yer stumps right lively,
+mebbe ye&rsquo;ll overhaul him yit.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe rose precipitately.&nbsp; Towse, believing his petition for the
+papaw was about to be rewarded, leaped up too, gamboling with a display
+of ecstasy that might have befitted a starving creature, and an elasticity
+to be expected only of a rubber dog.&nbsp; As he uttered a shrill yelp
+of delight, he sprang up against Rufe, who, reeling under the shock,
+dropped the remnant of the papaw.&nbsp; Towse darted upon it, sniffed
+disdainfully, and returned to his capers around Rufe, evidently declining
+to believe that all that show of gustatory satisfaction had been elicited
+only by the papaw, and that Rufe had nothing else to eat.<br/>
+<br/>
+Thus the two took their way out of the tanyard; and even after they
+had disappeared, their progress through the underbrush was marked by
+an abnormal commotion among the leaves, as the saltatory skeptic of
+a dog insisted on more substantial favors than the succulent papaw.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner smoked for a time in silence.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then, &ldquo;Birt ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter be let ter work hyar ag&rsquo;in,&rdquo;
+he said.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers elevated his shaggy eyebrows in surprise.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye see,&rdquo; said the tanner in a confidential undertone, &ldquo;sence
+Birt hev stole that thar grant, I kin argufy ez he mought steal su&rsquo;thin&rsquo;
+else, an&rsquo; I ain&rsquo;t ekal ter keepin&rsquo; up a spry lookout
+on things, an&rsquo; bein&rsquo; partic&rsquo;lar &rsquo;bout the count
+o&rsquo; the hides an&rsquo; sech.&nbsp; I can&rsquo;t feel easy with
+sech a mischeevious scamp around.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers made no rejoinder, and the tanner, puffing his pipe, vaguely watched
+the wreaths of smoke rise above his head, and whisk buoyantly about
+in the air, and finally skurry off into invisibility.&nbsp; A gentle
+breeze was astir in the woods, and it set the leaves to whispering.&nbsp;
+The treetoads and the locusts were trolling a chorus.&nbsp; So loudly
+vibrant, it was!&nbsp; So clamorously gay!&nbsp; Some subtle intimation
+they surely had that summer was ephemeral and the season waning, for
+the burden of their song was, Let us now be merry.&nbsp; The scarlet
+head of a woodpecker showed brilliantly from the bare dead boughs of
+a chestnut-oak, which, with its clinging lichens of green and gray,
+was boldly projected against the azure sky.&nbsp; And there, the filmy
+moon, most dimly visible in the afternoon sunshine, swung like some
+lunar hallucination among the cirrus clouds.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye &rsquo;lows ez I ain&rsquo;t doin&rsquo; right by Birt?&rdquo;
+the tanner suggested presently, with more conscience in the matter than
+one would have given him credit for possessing.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I knows ye air doin&rsquo; right,&rdquo; said Byers unexpectedly.<br/>
+<br/>
+All at once the woodpecker was solemnly tapping - tapping.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers glanced up, as if to discern whence the sudden sound came, and
+once more bent to his work.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye b&rsquo;lieves, then, ez he stole that thar grant from Nate
+Griggs?&rdquo; asked Perkins.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I be <i>sure</i> he done it,&rdquo; said Byers, unequivocally.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner took his pipe from his lips.&nbsp; &ldquo;What ails ye ter
+say that, Andy?&rdquo; he exclaimed excitedly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers hesitated.&nbsp; He mechanically passed his fingers once
+or twice across the blunt, curved blade of the two-handled knife.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye&rsquo;ll keep the secret?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;In the sole o&rsquo; my boot,&rdquo; said the tanner.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, I <i>knows</i> ez Birt stole the grant.&nbsp; I hev been
+powerful changeful, though, in my thoughts bout&rsquo;n it.&nbsp; At
+fust I war glad when he war suspicioned &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n it, an&rsquo;
+I war minded to go an&rsquo; inform on him an&rsquo; sech, ter pay him
+back; &rsquo;kase I held a grudge ag&rsquo;in him, believin&rsquo; ez
+he hed dressed out that thar blackberry bush ez Mrs. Price&rsquo;s harnt.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; then I&rsquo;d remember ez his mother war a widder-woman,
+an&rsquo; he war nothin&rsquo; but a boy, an&rsquo; boys air bound ter
+be gamesome an&rsquo; full o&rsquo; jokes wunst in a while, an&rsquo;
+I&rsquo;d feel like I war bound ter furgive him &rsquo;bout the harnt.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; then ag&rsquo;in I got toler&rsquo;ble oneasy fur fear the
+Law mought hold <i>me</i> &rsquo;sponsible fur knowin&rsquo; &rsquo;bout
+Birt&rsquo;s crime of stealin&rsquo; the grant an&rsquo; yit not tellin&rsquo;
+on him.&nbsp; An&rsquo; I&rsquo;d take ter hopin&rsquo; an&rsquo; prayin&rsquo;
+the boy would confess, so ez I wouldn&rsquo;t hev ter tell on him.&nbsp;
+I hev been mightily pestered in my mind lately with sech dilly-dallyin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Again the sudden tapping of the woodpecker filled the pause.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Did ye <i>see</i> him steal the grant, Andy?&rdquo; asked the
+tanner, with bated breath.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ez good ez seen him.&nbsp; I seen him slyin&rsquo; round, an&rsquo;
+I <i>hev fund the place whar he hev hid it.</i>&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+And the woodpecker still was solemnly tapping, high up in the chestnut-oak
+tree.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER X.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, meanwhile, was trudging along in the woods, hardly seeing where
+he went, hardly caring.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had not had even a vague premonition when the tanner told him that
+he might have the rest of the day off.&nbsp; He did not now want the
+holiday which would once have so rejoiced him, and he said as much.&nbsp;
+And then the tanner, making the disclosure by degrees, being truly sorry
+to part with the boy, intimated that he need come back no more.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt unharnessed the mule by the sense of touch and the force of habit,
+for blinding tears intervened between his vision and the rusty old buckles
+and worn straps of leather.&nbsp; The animal seemed to understand that
+something was amiss, and now and then turned his head interrogatively.&nbsp;
+Somehow Birt was glad to feel that he left at least one friend in the
+tanyard, albeit the humblest, for he had always treated the beast with
+kindness, and he was sure the mule would miss him.<br/>
+<br/>
+When he reached home he loitered for a time outside the fence, trying
+to nerve himself to witness his mother&rsquo;s distress.&nbsp; And at
+last his tears were dried, and he went in and told her the news.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was hard for him nowadays to understand that simple mother of his.&nbsp;
+She did nothing that he expected.&nbsp; To be sure her cheek paled,
+her eyes looked anxious for a moment, and her hands trembled so that
+she carefully put down upon the table a dish which she had been wiping.&nbsp;
+But she said quite calmly, &ldquo;Waal, sonny, I dunno but ye hed better
+take a day off from work, sure enough, an&rsquo; go a-huntin&rsquo;.&nbsp;
+Thar&rsquo;s yer rifle, an&rsquo; mebbe ye&rsquo;ll git a shot at a
+deer down yander by the lick.&nbsp; The chill&rsquo;n haint hed no wild
+meat lately, &rsquo;ceptin&rsquo; squir&rsquo;ls out&rsquo;n Rufe&rsquo;s
+trap.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+And then he began to cry out bitterly that nobody would give him work,
+and they would all starve; that the tanner believed he had stolen the
+grant, and was afraid to have him about the hides.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Tain&rsquo;t no differ ez long ez &rsquo;tain&rsquo;t
+the truth,&rdquo; said his mother philosophically.&nbsp; &ldquo;We-uns
+will jes&rsquo; abide by the truth.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He repeated this phrase over and over as he struggled through the tangled
+underbrush of the dense forest.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was all like some terrible dream; and but for Tennessee, it would
+be the truth!&nbsp; How he blessed the little sister that her love for
+him and his love for her had come between him and crime at that moment
+of temptation.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;So powerful peart!&rdquo; he muttered with glistening eyes, as
+he thought of her.<br/>
+<br/>
+The grant was gone, to be sure; but he did not take it.&nbsp; They accused
+him - and falsely!<br/>
+<br/>
+It was something to be free and abroad in the woods.&nbsp; He heard
+the wind singing in the pines.&nbsp; Their fine, penetrating aroma pervaded
+the air, and the rusty needles, covering the ground, muffled his tread.&nbsp;
+Once he paused - was that the bleat of a fawn, away down on the mountain&rsquo;s
+slope?&nbsp; He heard no more, and he walked on, looking about with
+his old alert interest.&nbsp; He was refreshed, invigorated, somehow
+consoled, as he went.&nbsp; O wise mother! he wondered if she foresaw
+this when she sent him into the woods.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had not before noted how the season was advancing.&nbsp; Here and
+there, in the midst of the dark green foliage, leaves shone so vividly
+yellow that it seemed as if upon them some fascinated sunbeam had expended
+all its glamours.&nbsp; In a dusky recess he saw the crimson sumach
+flaring.&nbsp; And the distant blue mountains, and the furthest reaches
+of the azure sky, and the sombre depths of the wooded valley, and the
+sheeny splendors of the afternoon sun, and every incident of crag or
+chasm - all appeared through a soft purple haze that possessed the air,
+and added an ideal embellishment to the scene.&nbsp; Down the ravine
+the &ldquo;lick&rdquo; shone with the lustre of a silver lakelet.&nbsp;
+He saw the old oak-tree hard by, with the historic scaffold among its
+thinning leaves, and further along the slope were visible vague bobbing
+figures, which he recognized as the &ldquo;Griggs gang,&rdquo; seeking
+upon the mountain side the gold which he had discovered.<br/>
+<br/>
+Suddenly he heard a light crackling in the brush, - a faint footfall.&nbsp;
+It reminded him of the deer-path close at hand.&nbsp; He crouched down
+noiselessly amongst the low growth and lifted his rifle, his eyes fixed
+on the point where the path disappeared in the bushes, and where he
+would first catch a glimpse of the approaching animal.<br/>
+<br/>
+He heard the step again.&nbsp; His finger was trembling on the trigger,
+when down the path leisurely walked an old gentleman attired in black,
+a hammer in his hand, and a pair of gleaming spectacles poised placidly
+upon the bridge of an intellectual Roman nose.&nbsp; And this queer
+game halted in the middle of the deer-path, all unconscious of his deadly
+danger.<br/>
+<br/>
+It was a wonder that the rifle was not discharged, for the panic-stricken
+Birt had lost control of his muscles, and his convulsive finger was
+still quivering on the trigger as he trembled from head to foot.&nbsp;
+He hardly dared to try to move the gun.&nbsp; For a moment he could
+not speak.&nbsp; He gazed in open-mouthed amazement at the unsuspecting
+old gentleman, who was also unaware of the far more formidable open
+mouth of the rifle.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Now, ain&rsquo;t ye lackin&rsquo; fur head-stuffin&rsquo;?&rdquo;
+suddenly yelled out Birt, from his hiding-place.<br/>
+<br/>
+The startled old man jumped, with the most abrupt alacrity.&nbsp; In
+fact, despite his age and the lack of habit, he bounded as acrobatically
+from the ground as the expected deer could have done.&nbsp; He was,
+it is true, a learned man; but science has no specific for sudden fright,
+and he jumped as ignorantly as if he did not know the difficult name
+of any of the muscles that so alertly exercised themselves on this occasion.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt rose at last to his feet and looked with a pallid face over the
+underbrush.&nbsp; &ldquo;Now, ain&rsquo;t ye lackin&rsquo; fur head-stuffin&rsquo;,&rdquo;
+he faltered, &ldquo;a-steppin&rsquo; along a deer-path ez nat&rsquo;ral
+ez ef ye war a big fat buck?&nbsp; I kem mighty nigh shootin&rsquo;
+ye.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The old gentleman recovered his equilibrium, mental and physical, with
+marvelous rapidity.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ah, my young friend,&rdquo; - he motioned to Birt to come nearer,
+- &rdquo;I want to speak to you.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt stared.&nbsp; One might have inferred, from the tone, that the
+gentleman had expected to meet him here, whereas Birt had just had the
+best evidence of his senses that the encounter was a great surprise.<br/>
+<br/>
+The boy observed his interlocutor more carefully than he had yet been
+able to do.&nbsp; He remembered all at once Rufe&rsquo;s queer story
+of meeting, down the ravine, an eccentric old man whom he was disposed
+to identify as Satan.&nbsp; As the stranger stood there in the deer-path,
+he looked precisely as Rufe had described him, even to the baffling
+glitter of his spectacles, his gray whiskers, and the curiously shaped
+hammer in his hand.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, although bewildered and still tremulous from the shock to his
+nerves, was not so superstitious as Rufe, and he shouldered his gun,
+and, pushing out from the tangled underbrush, joined the old man in
+the path.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I want,&rdquo; said the gentleman, &ldquo;to hire a boy for a
+few days - weeks, perhaps.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He smiled with two whole rows of teeth that never grew where they stood.&nbsp;
+Birt wished he could see the expression of the stranger&rsquo;s eyes,
+indistinguishable behind the spectacles that glimmered in the light.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What do you say to fifty cents a day?&rdquo; he continued briskly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s heart sank suddenly.&nbsp; He had heard that Satan traded
+in souls by working on the avarice of the victim.&nbsp; The price suggested
+seemed a great deal to Birt, for in this region there is little cash
+in circulation, barter serving all the ordinary purposes of commerce.<br/>
+<br/>
+As he hesitated, the old man eyed him quizzically.&nbsp; &ldquo;Afraid
+of work, eh?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw, sir!&rdquo; said Birt, sturdily.<br/>
+<br/>
+Ah, if the bark-mill, and the old mule, and the tan-pit, and the wood-pile,
+and the cornfield might testify!<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Fifty cents a day - eh?&rdquo; said the stranger.<br/>
+<br/>
+At the repetition of the sum, it occurred to Birt, growing more familiar
+with the eccentricity of his companion, that he ought not in sheer silliness
+to throw away a chance for employment.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Kin I ask my mother?&rdquo; he said dubiously.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;By all means ask your mother,&rdquo; replied the stranger heartily.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s last fantastic doubt vanished.&nbsp; Oh no! this was not
+Satan in disguise.&nbsp; When did the enemy ever counsel a boy to ask
+his mother!<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt still stared gravely at him.&nbsp; All the details of his garb,
+manner, speech, even the hammer in his hand, were foreign to the boy&rsquo;s
+experience.<br/>
+<br/>
+Presently he ventured a question.&nbsp; &ldquo;Do you-uns hail from
+hyar-abouts?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The stranger was frank and communicative.&nbsp; He told Birt that he
+was a professor of Natural Science in a college in one of the &ldquo;valley
+towns,&rdquo; and that he was sojourning, for his health&rsquo;s sake,
+at a little watering-place some twelve miles distant on the bench of
+the mountain.&nbsp; Occasionally he made an excursion into the range,
+which was peculiarly interesting geologically.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;But what I wish you to do is to dig for - bones.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>Bones?</i>&rdquo; faltered Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Bones,&rdquo; reiterated the professor solemnly.<br/>
+<br/>
+<i>Did</i> his spectacles twinkle?<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt stood silent, vaguely wondering what his mother would think of
+&ldquo;bones.&rdquo;&nbsp; Presently the professor, seeing that the
+boy was not likely to ask amusing questions, explained.<br/>
+<br/>
+He informed Birt that in the neighborhood of salt licks - &rdquo;saline
+quagmires&rdquo; he called them - were often found the remains of animals
+of an extinct species, which are of great value to science.&nbsp; He
+gave Birt the extremely long name of these animals, and descanted upon
+such conditions of their existence as is known, much of which Birt did
+not understand.&nbsp; Although this fact was very apparent, it did not
+in the least affect the professor&rsquo;s ardor in the theme.&nbsp;
+He was in the habit of talking of these things to boys who did not understand,
+and alack! to boys who did not want to understand.<br/>
+<br/>
+One point, however, he made very clear.&nbsp; With the hope of some
+such &ldquo;find,&rdquo; he was anxious to investigate this particular
+lick, - about which indeed he had heard a vague tradition of a &ldquo;big
+bone&rdquo; discovery, such as is common to similar localities in this
+region, - and for this purpose he proposed to furnish the science and
+the fifty cents <i>per diem</i>, and earnestly desired that some one
+else should furnish the muscle.<br/>
+<br/>
+He was accustomed to think much more rapidly than the men with whom
+Birt was associated, and his briskness in arranging the matter had an
+incongruous suggestion of the giddiness of youth.&nbsp; He said that
+he would go home with Birt to fetch the spade, and while there he could
+settle the terms with the boy&rsquo;s mother, and then they could get
+to work.<br/>
+<br/>
+He started off at a dapper gait up the deer-path, while Birt, with his
+rifle on his shoulder, followed.<br/>
+<br/>
+A sudden thought struck Birt.&nbsp; He stopped short.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Now <i>I</i> dunno which side o&rsquo; that thar lick Nate Griggs&rsquo;s
+line runs on,&rdquo; he remarked.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Never mind,&rdquo; said the professor, waving away objections
+with airy efficiency; &ldquo;I shall first secure the consent of the
+owner of the land.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt cogitated for a moment.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nate Griggs ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo;
+ter gin his cornsent ter nobody ter dig ennywhar down the ravine, ef
+it air inside o&rsquo; his lines,&rdquo; he said confidently, &ldquo;&lsquo;kase
+I - &rsquo;kase he - leastwise, &rsquo;kase gold hev been fund hyar
+lately, an&rsquo; he hev entered the land.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The professor stopped short in the path.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Gold!&rdquo; he ejaculated.&nbsp; &ldquo;Gold!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Was there a vibration of incredulity in his voice?<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt remembered all at once the specimens which he had picked up that
+memorable evening, down the ravine, when he shot the red fox.&nbsp;
+Here they still were in his pocket.&nbsp; They showed lustrous, metallic,
+yellow gleams as he placed them carefully in the old man&rsquo;s outstretched
+hand, telling how he came by them, of his mistaken confidence, the betrayed
+trust, and ending by pointing at the group of gold-seekers, microscopic
+in the distance on the opposite slope.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I hev hearn tell,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;ez Nate air countin&rsquo;
+on goin&rsquo; pardners with a man in Sparty, who hev got money, to
+work the gold mine.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Now and then, as he talked, he glanced up at his companion&rsquo;s face,
+vaguely expecting to discover his opinion by its expression, but the
+light still played in a baffling glitter upon his spectacles.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt could only follow when the professor suddenly handed back the specimens
+with a peremptory &ldquo;Come - come!&nbsp; We must go for the spade.&nbsp;
+But when we reach your mother&rsquo;s house I will test this mineral,
+and you shall see for yourself what you have lost.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Mrs. Dicey&rsquo;s first impression upon meeting the stranger and learning
+of his mission was not altogether surprise as Birt had expected.&nbsp;
+Her chief absorption was a deep thankfulness that the floors all preserved
+their freshly scoured appearance.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Fur ef Rufe hed been playin&rsquo; round hyar ter-day, same ez
+common, the rubbish would have been a scandal ter the kentry,&rdquo;
+she reflected.<br/>
+<br/>
+In fact, all was so neat, albeit so poor, that the stranger felt as
+polite as he looked, while he talked to her about employing Birt in
+his researches.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt, however, had little disposition to listen to this.&nbsp; He was
+excited by the prospect of testing the mineral, and he busied himself
+with great alacrity in preparing for it under the professor&rsquo;s
+directions.&nbsp; He suffered a qualm, it is true, as he pounded the
+shining fragments into a coarse powder, and then he drew out with the
+shovel a great glowing mass of live coals on the hearth.<br/>
+<br/>
+The dogs peered eagerly in at the door, having followed the stranger
+with the liveliest curiosity.&nbsp; Towse, bolder than the rest, entered
+intrepidly with a nonchalant air and a wagging tail, for he and Rufe,
+having failed to find Birt, had just returned home.&nbsp; The small
+boy paused on the threshold in amazed recognition of the old gentleman
+who had occasioned him such a fright that day down the ravine.<br/>
+<br/>
+The professor gesticulated a great deal as he bent over the fire and
+gave Birt directions, and, with his waving hands and the glow on his
+hoary hair and beard, he looked like some fantastic sorcerer.&nbsp;
+Somehow Rufe was glad to see the familiar countenances of Pete and Joe,
+and was still more reassured to note that his mother was quietly standing
+beside the table, as she stirred the batter for bread in a wooden bowl.&nbsp;
+Tennessee had pressed close to Birt, her chubby hand clutching his collar
+as he knelt on the hearth.&nbsp; He held above the glowing coals a long
+fire shovel, on which the pulverized mineral had been placed, and his
+eyes were very bright as he earnestly watched it.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;If it is gold,&rdquo; said the old man, &ldquo;a moderate heat
+will not affect it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The shovel was growing hot.&nbsp; The live coals glowed beneath it.&nbsp;
+The breath of the fire stirred Tennessee&rsquo;s flaxen hair.&nbsp;
+And Birt&rsquo;s dilated eyes saw the yellow particles still glistening
+unchanged in the centre of the shovel, which was beginning to redden.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER XI.<br/>
+<br/>
+Suddenly - was the glistening yellow mineral taking fire?&nbsp; It began
+to give off sulphurous fumes.&nbsp; And drifting away with them were
+all Birt&rsquo;s golden visions and Nate&rsquo;s ill-gotten wealth -
+ending in smoke!<br/>
+<br/>
+The sulphurous odor grew stronger.&nbsp; Even Towse stopped short, and
+gazed at the shovel with a reprehensive sniff.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ker-shoo!&rdquo; he sneezed.<br/>
+<br/>
+And commenting thus, he turned abruptly and went hastily out, with a
+startled look and a downcast tail.<br/>
+<br/>
+His sneeze seemed to break the spell of silence that had fallen on the
+little group.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;It be mighty nigh bodaciously changed ter cinders!&rdquo; exclaimed
+Birt, staring in amaze at the lustreless contents of the shovel from
+which every suggestion of golden glimmer had faded.&nbsp; &ldquo;What
+do it be, ef &rsquo;tain&rsquo;t gold?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Iron pyrites,&rdquo; said the professor.&nbsp; &ldquo;&lsquo;Fools&rsquo;
+gold,&rsquo; it is often called.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He explained to Birt that in certain formations, however, gold is associated
+with iron pyrites, and when the mineral is properly roasted, this process
+serving to expel the sulphur, the fine particles of gold are found held
+in the resulting oxide of iron.&nbsp; But the variety of the mineral
+discovered down the ravine he said was valueless, unless occurring in
+vast quantities, when it is sometimes utilized in the production of
+sulphur.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I wonder,&rdquo; Birt broke out suddenly, &ldquo;if the assayer
+won&rsquo;t find no gold in them samples ez Nate sent him.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The professor laughed.&nbsp; &ldquo;The assayer will need the &lsquo;philosopher&rsquo;s
+stone&rsquo; to find gold in any samples from this locality.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye knowed then, all the time, ez this stuff warn&rsquo;t gold?&rdquo;
+asked Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;All the time,&rdquo; rejoined the elder.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; Nate hev got the steepest, rockiest spot in the kentry
+ter pay taxes on,&rdquo; resumed Birt, reflectively.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo;
+he hev shelled out a power o&rsquo; money ter the surveyor, an&rsquo;
+sech, a&rsquo;ready.&nbsp; I reckon he&rsquo;ll be mightily outed when
+he finds out ez the min&rsquo;ral ain&rsquo;t gold.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt stopped short in renewed anxiety.<br/>
+<br/>
+That missing grant!&nbsp; Somehow he felt sure that Nate, balked of
+the great gains he had promised himself, would wreak his disappointment
+wherever he might; and since the land was of so little value, he would
+not continue to deny himself his revenge for fear that an investigation
+into the priority of the mineral&rsquo;s discovery might invalidate
+the entry.&nbsp; Once more Birt was tortured by the terror of arrest
+- he might yet suffer a prosecution from malignity, which had hitherto
+been withheld from policy.&nbsp; If only the mystery of the lost grant
+could be solved!<br/>
+<br/>
+The conversation of the elders had returned to the subject of the investigations
+around the &ldquo;lick&rdquo; and the terms for Birt&rsquo;s services.&nbsp;
+As so much time had been consumed with the pyrites, the professor concluded
+with some vexation that they could hardly arrange all the preliminaries
+and get to work this afternoon.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I dare say we had best begin to-morrow morning,&rdquo; he said
+at last.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Birt can&rsquo;t go a-diggin&rsquo; no-ways, this evenin&rsquo;,&rdquo;
+put in the officious Rufe, who stood, according to his wont, listening
+with his mouth and eyes wide open, &ldquo;&lsquo;kase ez I kem home
+by the tanyard Jube Perkins hollered ter me ter tell Birt ter come thar
+right quick.&nbsp; I furgot it till this minit,&rdquo; he added, with
+a shade of embarrassment that might pass for apology.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt felt a prophetic thrill.&nbsp; This summons promised developments
+of importance.&nbsp; Only a few hours ago he was discharged under suspicion
+of dishonesty; why this sudden recall?&nbsp; He did not know whether
+hope or fear was paramount.&nbsp; He trembled with eager expectancy.&nbsp;
+He seized his hat, and strode out of the house without waiting to hear
+more of the professor&rsquo;s plans or the details of the wages.<br/>
+<br/>
+He had reached the fence before he discovered Tennessee close at his
+heels.&nbsp; He cast his troubled eyes down upon her, and met her pleading,
+upturned gaze.&nbsp; He was about to charge her to go back.&nbsp; But
+then he remembered how she had followed him with blessings - how mercy
+had kept pace with her steps.&nbsp; He would not deny her the simple
+boon she craved, and if she were troublesome and in his way, surely
+he might be patient with her, since she loved him so!&nbsp; He lifted
+her over the fence, and then started briskly down the path, the sturdy,
+light-footed little mountain girl delightedly trudging along in the
+rear.<br/>
+<br/>
+When he entered the tanyard no one was there except Jube Perkins and
+Andy Byers the tanner, lounging as usual on the wood-pile, and the workman,
+with scarcely less the aspect of idleness, dawdlingly scraping a hide
+on the wooden horse.&nbsp; Birt discerned a portent in the unwonted
+solemnity of their faces, and his heart sank.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, Birt, we-uns hev been a-waitin&rsquo; fur ye,&rdquo; said
+the tanner in a subdued, grave tone that somehow reminded Birt of the
+bated voices in a house of death.&nbsp; &ldquo;Set down hyar on the
+wood-pile, fur Andy an&rsquo; me hev got a word ter say ter ye.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s dilated black eyes turned in dumb appeal from one to the
+other as he sank down on the wood-pile.&nbsp; His suspense gnawed him
+like an actual grief while Jubal Perkins slowly shifted his position
+and looked vaguely at Andy Byers for a suggestion, being uncertain how
+to begin.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, Birt,&rdquo; he drawled at last, &ldquo;ez yer dad is dead
+an&rsquo; ye hev got nobody ter see arter ye an&rsquo; advise ye, Andy
+an&rsquo; me, we-uns agreed ez how we&rsquo;d talk ter ye right plain,
+an&rsquo; try ter git ye ter jedge o&rsquo; this hyar matter like we-uns
+do.&nbsp; Andy an&rsquo; me know more &rsquo;bout the law, an&rsquo;
+&rsquo;bout folks too, than ye does.&nbsp; These hyar Griggs folks hev
+always been misdoubted ez a fractious an&rsquo; contrary-wise fambly.&nbsp;
+Ef enny Griggs ain&rsquo;t aggervatin&rsquo; an&rsquo; captious, it
+air through bein&rsquo; plumb terrified by the t&rsquo;others.&nbsp;
+They air powerful hard folks - an&rsquo; they&rsquo;ll land ye in the
+State Prison yet, I&rsquo;m thinkin&rsquo;.&nbsp; I wonder they hain&rsquo;t
+started at ye a&rsquo;ready.&nbsp; But thar&rsquo;s no countin&rsquo;
+on &rsquo;em, &rsquo;ceptin&rsquo; that they&rsquo;ll do all they kin
+that air ha&rsquo;sh an&rsquo; grindin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;That air a true word, Birt,&rdquo; said Andy Byers, speaking
+to the boy for the first time in many days.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ef they hev
+thar reason fur it, they mought hold thar hand fur a time, but fust
+or las&rsquo; they&rsquo;ll hev all out&rsquo;n ye ez the law will allow
+&rsquo;em.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt listened in desperation.&nbsp; All this was sharpened by the certainty
+that the mineral was only valueless pyrites, and the prescience of Nate&rsquo;s
+anger when this fact should come to his knowledge, and prudence no longer
+restrain him.&nbsp; His rage would vent itself on his luckless victim
+for every cent, every mill, that the discovery of the &ldquo;fools&rsquo;
+gold&rdquo; had cost him.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;They&rsquo;ll be takin&rsquo; ye away from the mountings ter
+jail ye an&rsquo; try ye, an&rsquo; mebbe ye&rsquo;ll go ter the pen&rsquo;tiary
+arter that.&nbsp; An&rsquo; how will yer mother, an&rsquo; brothers,
+an&rsquo; sister, git thar vittles, an&rsquo; firewood, an&rsquo; corn-crap
+an&rsquo; clothes, an&rsquo; sech - Rufe bein&rsquo; the oldest child,
+arter you-uns?&rdquo; demanded the tanner.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; even
+when ye git back - I hate ter tell ye this word - nobody will want ye
+round.&nbsp; They&rsquo;ll be feared ye&rsquo;d be forever pickin&rsquo;
+an&rsquo; stealin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;But we-uns will stand up fur ye, bein&rsquo; ez ye air the widder&rsquo;s
+son,&rdquo; said Byers eagerly.&nbsp; &ldquo;We-uns will gin the Griggs
+tribe ter onderstand that.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; mebbe the Griggses won&rsquo;t want ter do nuthin&rsquo;,
+ef they hain&rsquo;t got no furder cause fur holdin&rsquo; a grudge,&rdquo;
+put in the tanner.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;What be ye a-layin&rsquo; off fur me ter do?&rdquo; asked Birt
+wonderingly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ter gin Nate&rsquo;s grant back ter him,&rdquo; they both replied
+in a breath.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I hev not got it!&rdquo; cried poor Birt tumultuously.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I never stole it!&nbsp; I dunno whar it be!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner&rsquo;s expression changed from paternal kindliness to contemptuous
+anger.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Air ye goin&rsquo; ter keep on bein&rsquo; a liar, Birt, ez well
+ez a thief?&rdquo; he said sternly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I dunno whar it be,&rdquo; reiterated Birt desperately.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;<i>I</i> know whar it be,&rdquo; said Byers.&nbsp; Birt gazed
+at him astounded.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar?&rdquo; he cried eagerly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Whar ye hid it,&rdquo; returned Byers coolly.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt&rsquo;s lips moved with difficulty as he huskily ejaculated &ldquo;I
+never hid it - I never!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye needn&rsquo;t deny it.&nbsp; I ez good ez seen ye hide it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt looked dazed for a moment.&nbsp; Then the blood rushed to his face
+and as suddenly receded, leaving it pale and rigid.&nbsp; He was cold
+and trembling.&nbsp; He could not speak.<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner scrutinized him narrowly.&nbsp; Then he said, &ldquo;Tell
+him &rsquo;bout it, Andy.&nbsp; Tell him jes&rsquo; ez ye tole me.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; mebbe he&rsquo;ll hev sense enough ter gin it up when he sees
+he air fairly caught.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal,&rdquo; said Byers, leaning back against the wall of the
+smoke-house, and holding the knife idly poised in his hand, &ldquo;I
+kem down ter the tanyard betimes that mornin&rsquo; arter the storm.&nbsp;
+Both ye an&rsquo; Birt war late.&nbsp; I noticed Nate Griggs&rsquo;s
+coat hangin&rsquo; thar in the shed, with a paper stickin&rsquo; out&rsquo;n
+the pocket, ez I started inter the smoke-house ter tend ter the fire.&nbsp;
+I reckon I mus&rsquo; hev made consider&rsquo;ble racket in thar, &rsquo;kase
+I never hearn nuthin&rsquo; till I sot down afore the fire on a log
+o&rsquo; wood, an&rsquo; lit my pipe.&nbsp; All of a suddenty thar kem
+a step outside, toler&rsquo;ble light on the tan.&nbsp; I jes&rsquo;
+&rsquo;lowed &rsquo;t war ye or Birt.&nbsp; But I happened ter look
+up, an&rsquo; thar I see a couple o&rsquo; big black eyes peepin&rsquo;
+through that thar crack in the wall.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He turned and pointed out a crevice where the &ldquo;daubin&rsquo;&rdquo;
+had fallen from the &ldquo;chinkin&rsquo;&rdquo; between the logs.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye can see,&rdquo; he resumed, &ldquo;ez this hyar crack air
+jes&rsquo; the height o&rsquo; Birt.&nbsp; Waal, them eyes lookin&rsquo;
+in so onexpected didn&rsquo;t &rsquo;sturb me none.&nbsp; I hev knowed
+the Dicey eye fur thirty year, an&rsquo; thar ain&rsquo;t none like
+&rsquo;em nowhar round the mountings.&nbsp; But I &rsquo;lowed &rsquo;t
+war toler&rsquo;ble sassy in Birt ter stand thar peerin&rsquo; at me
+through the chinkin&rsquo;.&nbsp; I never let on, though, ez I viewed
+him.&nbsp; An&rsquo; then, them eyes jes&rsquo; set up sech a outdacious
+winkin&rsquo; an&rsquo; wallin&rsquo;, an&rsquo; squinchin&rsquo;, ez
+I knowed he war makin&rsquo; faces at me.&nbsp; So I jes&rsquo; riz
+up - an&rsquo; the eyes slipped away from thar in a hurry.&nbsp; I war
+aimin&rsquo; ter larrup Birt fur his sass, but I stopped ter hang up
+a skin ez I hed knocked down.&nbsp; It never tuk me long, much, but
+when I went out, thar warn&rsquo;t nobody ter be seen in the tanyard.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He paused to place one foot upon the wooden horse, and he leaned forward
+with a reflective expression, his elbow on his knee, and his hand holding
+his bearded chin.<br/>
+<br/>
+The afternoon was waning.&nbsp; The scarlet sun in magnified splendor
+was ablaze low down in the saffron west.&nbsp; The world seemed languorously
+afloat in the deep, serene flood of light.&nbsp; Shadows were lengthening
+slowly.&nbsp; The clangor of a cow-bell vibrated in the distance.<br/>
+<br/>
+The drone of Andy Byers&rsquo;s voice overbore it as he recommenced.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, I was sorter conflusticated, an&rsquo; I looked round powerful
+sharp ter see whar Birt hed disappeared to.&nbsp; I happened ter cut
+my eye round at that thar pit ez he hed finished layin&rsquo; the tan
+in, an&rsquo; kivered with boards, an&rsquo; weighted with rocks that
+day ez ye an&rsquo; me hed ter go an&rsquo; attend on old Mrs. Price.&nbsp;
+Ye know we counted ez that thar pit wouldn&rsquo;t be opened ag&rsquo;in
+fur a right smart time?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The tanner nodded assent.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, I noticed ez the aidge o&rsquo; one o&rsquo; them boards
+war sot sorter catawampus, an&rsquo; I &rsquo;lowed ez &rsquo;t war
+the wind ez hed &rsquo;sturbed it.&nbsp; Ez I stooped down ter move
+it back in its place, I seen su&rsquo;thin&rsquo; white under it.&nbsp;
+So I lifted the board, an&rsquo; thar I see, lyin&rsquo; on the tan
+a-top o&rsquo; the pit, a stiff white paper.&nbsp; I looked round toward
+the shed, an&rsquo; thar hung the coat yit - with nuthin&rsquo; in the
+pocket.&nbsp; I didn&rsquo;t know edzactly what ter make of it, an&rsquo;
+I jes&rsquo; shunted the plank back over the paper in the pit like I
+fund it, an&rsquo; waited ter see what mought happen.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+all the time ez that thar racket war goin&rsquo; on bout&rsquo;n the
+grant, I knowed powerful well whar &rsquo;t war, an&rsquo; who stole
+it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt looked from one to the other of the two men.&nbsp; Both evidently
+believed every syllable of this story.&nbsp; It was so natural, so credible,
+that he had a curious sense of inclining toward it, too.&nbsp; Had he
+indeed, in some aberration, taken the grant?&nbsp; Was it some tricksy
+spirit in his likeness that had peered through the chinking at Andy
+Byers?<br/>
+<br/>
+He could find no words to contend further.&nbsp; He sat silent, numb,
+dumfounded.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Birt,&rdquo; said the tanner coaxingly, &ldquo;thar ain&rsquo;t
+no use in denyin&rsquo; it enny mo&rsquo;.&nbsp; Let&rsquo;s go an&rsquo;
+git that grant, an&rsquo; take it ter Nate an&rsquo; tell the truth.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+The words roused Birt.&nbsp; He clutched at the idea of getting possession
+of the paper that had so mysteriously disappeared and baffled and eluded
+him.&nbsp; He could at least return it.&nbsp; And even if this should
+fail to secure him lenient treatment, he would feel that he had done
+right.&nbsp; He rose suddenly in feverish anxiety.<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers and Perkins, exchanging a wink of congratulation, followed
+him to the pit.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;It air under this hyar board,&rdquo; said Byers, moving one of
+the heavy stones, and lifting a broad plank.<br/>
+<br/>
+Perkins pressed forward with eager curiosity, never having seen this
+famous grant.<br/>
+<br/>
+The ground bark on the surface was pretty dry, the layer being ten or
+fifteen inches thick, and the tanning infusion had not yet risen through
+it.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers stared with a frown at the tan, and lifted another board.&nbsp;
+Nothing appeared beneath it on the smooth surface of the bark.<br/>
+<br/>
+In sudden alarm they took away the boards, one after another, till all
+were removed, and the whole surface of the pit was exposed.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then they looked at each other, bewildered.&nbsp; For once more the
+grant was gone.<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+CHAPTER XII.<br/>
+<br/>
+Jubal Perkins broke the silence.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Andy Byers,&rdquo; he exclaimed wrathfully, &ldquo;what sort
+&rsquo;n tale is this ez ye air tryin&rsquo; ter fool me with?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers, perturbed and indignant, was instantly ready to accuse Birt.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye hev been hyar an&rsquo; got the grant an&rsquo; sneaked it
+off agin, hev ye!&rdquo; he cried, scowling at the boy.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then he turned to the tanner.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hope I may drap dead, Jube,&rdquo;
+he said earnestly, &ldquo;ef that grant warn&rsquo;t right hyar&rdquo;
+- he pointed at the spot - &rdquo;las&rsquo; night whenst I lef&rsquo;
+the tanyard.&nbsp; I always looked late every evenin&rsquo; ter be sure
+it hedn&rsquo;t been teched, thinkin&rsquo; I&rsquo;d make up my mind
+in the night whether I&rsquo;d tell on Birt, or no.&nbsp; But I never
+could git plumb sati&rsquo;fied what to do.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+His tone carried conviction.&nbsp; The tanner looked at Birt with disappointment
+in every line of his face.&nbsp; There was severity, too, in his expression.&nbsp;
+He was beginning to admit the fitness of harsh punishment in this case.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye don&rsquo;t wuth all this gabblin&rsquo; an&rsquo; jawin&rsquo;
+over ye, ye miser&rsquo;ble leetle critter,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo;
+I ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter waste another breath on ye.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt stood vacantly staring at the tan.&nbsp; All the energy of the
+truth was nullified by the futility of protestation.<br/>
+<br/>
+The two men exchanged a glance of vague comment upon his silence, and
+then they too looked idly down at the pit.<br/>
+<br/>
+Tennessee abruptly caught Birt&rsquo;s listless hand as it hung at his
+side, for Towse had suddenly entered the tanyard, and prancing up to
+her in joyous recognition, was trying to lick her face.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;G&rsquo;way, Towse,&rdquo; she drawled gutturally.&nbsp; She
+struck vaguely at him with her chubby little fist, which he waggishly
+took between his teeth in a gingerly gentle grip.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Stand back thar, Tennessee,&rdquo; Birt murmured mechanically.<br/>
+<br/>
+As usual, Towse was the precursor of Rufe, who presently dawdled out
+from the underbrush.&nbsp; He quickened his steps upon observing the
+intent attitude of the party, and as he came up he demanded vivaciously,
+&ldquo;What ails that thar pit o&rsquo; yourn, Mister Perkins? - thought
+ye said &rsquo;t warn&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter be opened ag&rsquo;in
+fore-shortly.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+For a moment the tanner made no reply.&nbsp; Then he drawled absently,
+&ldquo;Nuthin&rsquo; ails the pit, Rufe - nuthin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe sat down on the edge of it, and gazed speculatively at it.&nbsp;
+Presently he began anew, unabashed by the silence of the grave and contemplative
+group.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;This hyar tan hev got sorter moist atop now; I wonder ef that
+thar grant o&rsquo; Nate&rsquo;s got spi&rsquo;led ennywise with the
+damp.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt winced.&nbsp; It had been a certain mitigation of his trouble that,
+thanks to his mother&rsquo;s caution, the children at home knew nothing
+of the disgrace that had fallen upon him, and that there, at least,
+the atmosphere was untainted with suspicion.<br/>
+<br/>
+The next moment he was impressed by the singularity of Rufe&rsquo;s
+mention of the missing grant and its place of concealment.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Look-a-hyar, Rufe,&rdquo; he exclaimed, excitedly; &ldquo;how
+d&rsquo;ye know ennything &rsquo;bout Nate&rsquo;s grant an&rsquo; whar
+&rsquo;t war hid?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe glanced up scornfully, insulted in some occult manner by the question.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;How did I know, Birt Dicey?&nbsp; How d&rsquo;ye know yerse&rsquo;f?&rdquo;
+he retorted.&nbsp; &ldquo;I knows a heap, ginerally.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Perkins, catching the drift of Birt&rsquo;s intention, came to the rescue.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Say, bub, how d&rsquo;ye know the grant war ever put hyar?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Kase,&rdquo; responded Rufe, more amicably, &ldquo;I seen it
+put hyar - right yander.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He indicated the spot where the paper lay, according to Byers, when
+it was discovered.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt could hardly breathe.&nbsp; His anxieties, his hopes, his fears,
+seemed a pursuing pack before which he was almost spent.&nbsp; He panted
+like a hunted creature.&nbsp; Tennessee was swinging herself to and
+fro, holding by his hand.&nbsp; Sometimes she caught at Towse&rsquo;s
+unlovely ear, as he sat close by with his tongue lolled out and an attentive
+air, as if he were assisting at the discussion.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Who put it thar, bub?&rdquo; demanded Perkins.<br/>
+<br/>
+It would not have surprised Birt, so perverse had been the course of
+events, if Rufe had accused him on the spot.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Pig-wigs Griggs,&rdquo; replied Rufe, unexpectedly.<br/>
+<br/>
+A glance of intelligence passed between the men.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Tell &rsquo;bout it, Rufe,&rdquo; said the tanner, suppressing
+all appearance of excitement.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye ain&rsquo;t goin&rsquo; ter do nuthin&rsquo; ter Pig-wigs
+fur foolin&rsquo; with yer pit, ef I tell ye?&rdquo; asked Rufe, quickly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw, bub, naw.&nbsp; Which Griggs do ye call &lsquo;Pig-wigs?&rsquo;&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Why - <i>Pig-wigs</i>,&rdquo; Rufe reiterated obviously.<br/>
+<br/>
+Then he explained.&nbsp; &ldquo;He air Nate&rsquo;s nevy.&nbsp; He air
+Nate&rsquo;s oldest brother&rsquo;s biggest boy, - though he ain&rsquo;t
+sizable much.&nbsp; He air &rsquo;bout haffen ez big ez me - ef that,&rdquo;
+he added reflectively, thinking that even thus divided he had represented
+Pig-wigs as more massive than the facts justified.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye see,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;one day when his uncle Tim
+war over hyar ter the tanyard, I gin him one o&rsquo; my game deedies;
+an&rsquo; ez soon ez he got home he showed &rsquo;em all that thar deedie
+- powerful, spryest poultry ye ever see!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe smiled ecstatically as only a chicken fancier can.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; Pig-wigs war plumb <i>de</i>-stracted fur a deedie
+too.&nbsp; An&rsquo; he run all the way over hyar ter git me ter gin
+him one.&nbsp; But the deedies hed all gone ter bed, an&rsquo; the old
+hen war hoverin&rsquo; of &rsquo;em, an&rsquo; I didn&rsquo;t want ter
+&rsquo;sturb &rsquo;em,&rdquo; said Rufe considerately.&nbsp; &ldquo;So
+I tole Pig-wigs ter meet me at the tanyard early, an&rsquo; I&rsquo;d
+fetch him one.&nbsp; An&rsquo; ez his granny war goin&rsquo; visitin&rsquo;
+her merried daughter, she let him ride behind her on thar sorrel mare
+ez fur ez the tanyard.&nbsp; So he got hyar &rsquo;fore I did.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; I kem an&rsquo; gin him the deedie.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe paused abruptly, as if, having narrated this important transaction,
+he had exhausted the interest of the subject.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers was about to speak, but the tanner with a gesture repressed him.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye hain&rsquo;t tole &rsquo;bout the pit an&rsquo; the grant
+yit, bubby,&rdquo; he reminded the small boy.<br/>
+<br/>
+Byers&rsquo;s display of impatience was not lost upon Rufe, and it added
+to the general acrimony of their relations.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal,&rdquo; the small boy began alertly, &ldquo;we-uns hed the
+deedie behind the smoke-house thar, an&rsquo; I seen <i>him</i>&rdquo;
+- Rufe pointed at Byers with disfavor - &rdquo;a-comin&rsquo; powerful
+slow inter the tanyard, an&rsquo; I whispered ter Pig-wigs Griggs ter
+be quiet, an&rsquo; not let <i>him</i> know ez we-uns war thar, &rsquo;kase
+he war always a-jawin&rsquo; at me, &rsquo;thout the tanner war by ter
+keep him off&rsquo;n me.&nbsp; So we-uns bided thar till <i>he</i> went
+inter the smoke-house.&nbsp; An&rsquo; then ez we-uns kem by the shed,
+Pig-wigs seen his uncle Nate&rsquo;s coat hangin&rsquo; on a peg thar,
+&rsquo;kase that thar triflin&rsquo; Tim hed furgot, an&rsquo; lef&rsquo;
+it thar when he went ter see the deedies.&nbsp; An&rsquo; Pig-wigs Griggs,
+he &rsquo;lowed he knowed the coat war his uncle Nate&rsquo;s by the
+favior of it, an&rsquo; he reckoned the paper stickin&rsquo; out&rsquo;n
+the pocket war the grant he hed hearn Nate talkin&rsquo; &rsquo;bout.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; I whispered ter him ez he hed better ondertake ter tote it
+home ter Nate.&nbsp; An&rsquo; Pig-wigs said he couldn&rsquo;t tote
+the coat, bein&rsquo; so lumbered up with the deedie.&nbsp; But he would
+tote the grant in one hand an&rsquo; the deedie in t&rsquo;other.&nbsp;
+He couldn&rsquo;t put the deedie in one o&rsquo; his pockets, &rsquo;kase
+his mother sews &rsquo;em all up, bein&rsquo; ez he <i>would</i> kerry
+sech a passel o&rsquo; heavy truck in &rsquo;em, - rocks an&rsquo; sech,
+reg&rsquo;lar bowlders,&rdquo; added Rufe, with a casual remembrance
+of the museum in his own pockets.&nbsp; &ldquo;So Pig-wigs&rsquo;s mother
+sewed &rsquo;em all up, &rsquo;kase she said they war tore out all the
+time, an&rsquo; she seen no sense in a boy hevin&rsquo; a lot o&rsquo;
+slits in his clothes ter let in the air slanchwise on him.&nbsp; An&rsquo;
+Pig-wigs &rsquo;lowed he&rsquo;d tote the grant ef I would git it fur
+him.&nbsp; An&rsquo; I did.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;How did you-uns reach up ter that thar peg?&rdquo; demanded Byers,
+pointing to the peg on which the coat had hung, far beyond Rufe&rsquo;s
+reach.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Clumb up on the wooden horse,&rdquo; said Rufe promptly.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I peeked through the chinkin&rsquo; an&rsquo; seen ye thar a-smokin&rsquo;
+yer pipe over the fire.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe winked audaciously, suddenly convincing Byers as to the possessor
+of the big black eyes, which he had recognized as characteristic of
+the Dicey family, when they had peered through the chinking.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Waal, how did the grant git inter the pit, Rufe, an&rsquo; what
+hev become of it?&rdquo; asked Byers, overlooking these personalities,
+for he felt a certain anxiety in the matter, being the last person known
+to have seen the grant, which, by reason of his delay and indecision,
+had again been spirited away.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Pig-wigs put it thar, I tell ye,&rdquo; reiterated Rufe.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ye see, I hed got outside o&rsquo; the gate, an&rsquo; Pig-wigs
+war a good ways behind, walkin&rsquo; toler&rsquo;ble slow, bein&rsquo;
+ez he hed ter kerry the grant in one hand an&rsquo; the deedie in t&rsquo;other.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; thar I see a-cropin&rsquo; along on the ground a young rabbit
+- reg&rsquo;lar baby rabbit.&nbsp; An&rsquo; I motioned ter Pig-wigs
+ter come quick - I hed fund suthin&rsquo;.&nbsp; An&rsquo; ez Pig-wigs
+couldn&rsquo;t put the deedie down, he laid the grant on top o&rsquo;
+the boards ez kivered the pit.&nbsp; But the wind war brief, an&rsquo;
+kem mighty nigh blowin&rsquo; that grant away.&nbsp; So Pig-wigs jes&rsquo;
+stuck it down &rsquo;twixt two planks, an&rsquo; kem ter holp me ketch
+the rabbit.&nbsp; But Pig-wigs warn&rsquo;t no &rsquo;count ter holp.&nbsp;
+An&rsquo; the rabbit got away.&nbsp; An&rsquo; whilst Pig-wigs war foolin&rsquo;
+round, he drapped his deedie, an&rsquo; stepped on it - tromped the
+life out&rsquo;n it.&rdquo;&nbsp; Rufe&rsquo;s expression was of funereal
+gravity.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo; then he follered me every foot o&rsquo;
+the way home, beggin&rsquo; an&rsquo; beggin&rsquo; me ter gin him another.&nbsp;
+But I wouldn&rsquo;t.&nbsp; I won&rsquo;t gin no more o&rsquo; my deedies
+ter be tromped on, all round the mounting.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Rufe evidently felt that the line must be drawn somewhere.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;An&rsquo; what hev gone with that thar grant?&nbsp; &rsquo;T
+war hyar yestiddy.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;I dunno,&rdquo; responded Rufe, carelessly.&nbsp; &ldquo;Mebbe
+Pig-wigs reminded hisself &rsquo;bout&rsquo;n it arter awhile, an&rsquo;
+kem an&rsquo; got it.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+This proved to be the case.&nbsp; For Andy Byers concerned himself enough
+in the matter to ride the old mule over to Nate&rsquo;s home, to push
+the inquiries.&nbsp; Nate was just emerging from the door.&nbsp; The
+claybank mare, saddled and bridled, stood in front of the cabin.&nbsp;
+He was evidently about to mount.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Look-a-hyar, ye scamp!&rdquo; Byers saluted him gruffly, &ldquo;whyn&rsquo;t
+ye let we-uns know ez ye hed got back that thar grant o&rsquo; yourn,
+ez hev sot the whole mounting catawampus?&nbsp; Pig-wigs hearn ye talkin&rsquo;
+&rsquo;bout it at las&rsquo;, and tole ye ez he hed it, I s&rsquo;pose?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate affected to examine the saddle-girth.&nbsp; He looked furtively
+over the mare&rsquo;s shoulder at Andy Byers.&nbsp; He could not guess
+how much of the facts had been developed.&nbsp; In sheer perversity
+he was tempted to deny that he had the grant.&nbsp; But Byers was a
+heavy man of scant patience, and he wore a surly air that boded ill
+to a trifler.<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate nodded admission.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Pig-wigs fotched it home, eh?&rdquo; demanded Byers, leaning
+downward.<br/>
+<br/>
+Once more Nate lifted his long, thin questioning face.&nbsp; His craft
+had no encouragement.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ef ye be minded to call him &lsquo;Pig-wigs&rsquo; - his right
+name air Benjymen - &rsquo;t war him ez fotched it home.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Now ye air a mighty cantankerous, quar&rsquo;lsome, aggervatin&rsquo;
+critter!&rdquo; Byers broke out irritably.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t
+ye &rsquo;shamed o&rsquo; this hyar hurrah ye hev kicked up fur nuthin&rsquo;?
+accusin&rsquo; o&rsquo; Birt wrongful, an&rsquo; sech?&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Naw; I ain&rsquo;t &rsquo;shamed o&rsquo; nuthin&rsquo;!&rdquo;
+said Nate hardily, springing into the saddle.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+a-ridin&rsquo; ter the Settle<i>mint</i> ter git word from the assayer
+&rsquo;bout&rsquo;n the gold ez I hev fund.&nbsp; An&rsquo; when I rides
+back I&rsquo;ll be wuth more&rsquo;n enny man in the mountings or Sparty
+either!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+And he gave the mare the whip, and left Andy Byers, with his mouth full
+of rebukes, sitting motionless on the dozing old mule.<br/>
+<br/>
+The mare came back from the Settlement late that night under lash and
+spur, at a speed she had never before made.&nbsp; Day was hardly astir
+when Nate Griggs, wild-eyed and haggard, appeared at the tanyard in
+search of Birt.&nbsp; He was loud with reproaches, for the assayer had
+pronounced the &ldquo;gold&rdquo; only worthless iron pyrites.&nbsp;
+He had received, too, a jeering letter from his proposed partner in
+Sparta, who had found sport in playing on his consequential ignorance
+and fancied sharpness.&nbsp; And now Nate declared that Birt, also,
+had known that the mineral was valueless, and had from the first befooled
+him.&nbsp; In some way he would compel Birt to refund all the money
+that had been expended.&nbsp; How piteous was Nate as he stood and checked
+off, on his trembling fingers, the surveyor&rsquo;s fee, the entry-taker&rsquo;s
+fee, the register&rsquo;s fee, the secretary of State&rsquo;s fee, the
+assayer&rsquo;s fee - Oh, ruin, ruin!&nbsp; And what had he to show
+for it! a tract of crags and chasms and precipitous gravelly slopes
+and gullies worth not a mill an acre!&nbsp; And this was all - for the
+office of laughing-stock has no emoluments.&nbsp; Where was Birt?&nbsp;
+He would hold Birt to account.<br/>
+<br/>
+Andy Byers, listening, thought how well it was for Birt that Nate no
+longer had the loss of the grant as a grievance.<br/>
+<br/>
+Perkins mysteriously beckoned Nate aside.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nate,&rdquo;
+he said in a low voice, &ldquo;Birt air powerful mad &rsquo;bout that
+thar accusin&rsquo; him o&rsquo; stealin&rsquo; the grant, when &rsquo;t
+war some o&rsquo; yer own folks, &lsquo;Pig-wigs,&rsquo; ez hed it all
+the time.&nbsp; I seen him goin&rsquo; &rsquo;long towards yer house
+a leetle while ago.&nbsp; I reckon he air lookin&rsquo; fur you.&nbsp;
+He hed that big cowhide, ez I gin him t&rsquo;other day, in one hand.&nbsp;
+Ye jes&rsquo; take the road home, an&rsquo; ye&rsquo;ll ketch up with
+him sure.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Nate&rsquo;s wits were in disastrous eclipse.&nbsp; Could he deduce
+nothing from the tanner&rsquo;s grin?&nbsp; He spent the day at the
+Settlement without ostensible reason, and only at nightfall did he return
+home, and by a devious route, very different from that indicated by
+Jubal Perkins.<br/>
+<br/>
+Inquiry developed the fact that the boundaries of Nate&rsquo;s land
+did not include the salt lick, and his talents as an obstructer were
+not called into play.&nbsp; The professor was free to dig as he chose
+for the antique bones he sought, and many a long day did he and Birt
+spend in this sequestered spot, with the great crags towering above
+and the darkling vistas of the ravine on either hand.&nbsp; There was
+a long stretch of sunny weather, and somehow that shifting purple haze
+accented all its languorous lustres.&nbsp; It seemed a vague sort of
+poetry a-loose in the air, and color had license.&nbsp; The law which
+decreed that a leaf should be green was a dead letter.&nbsp; How gallantly
+red and yellow they flared; and others, how tenderly pink, and gray,
+and purplish of hue!&nbsp; What poly-tinted fancies underfoot in the
+moss!&nbsp; Strange visitants came from the north.&nbsp; Flocks of birds,
+southward bound, skimmed these alien skies.&nbsp; Sometimes they alighted
+on the tree-tops or along the banks of the torrent, chattering in great
+excitement, commenting mightily on the country.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt had never been so light-hearted as during these days.&nbsp; The
+cessation of anxiety was itself a sort of happiness.&nbsp; The long,
+hard ordeal to which the truth had subjected him had ended triumphantly.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Mighty onexpected things happen in this worl&rsquo;,&rdquo; he
+said, reflectively.&nbsp; &ldquo;It &rsquo;pears powerful cur&rsquo;ous
+to me, arter all ez hev come an&rsquo; gone, ez <i>I</i> ain&rsquo;t
+no loser by that thar gold mine down the ravine.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+He himself was surprised that he did not rejoice in Nate&rsquo;s mortification
+and defeat.&nbsp; But somehow he had struck a moral equilibrium; in
+mastering his anger and thirst for revenge, he had gained a stronger
+control of all the more unworthy impulses of his nature.<br/>
+<br/>
+Meantime there was woe at the tanyard.&nbsp; Jube Perkins had been anxious
+to have Birt resume his old place on the old terms.&nbsp; The professor,
+however, would not release the boy from his engagement.&nbsp; It seemed
+that this man of science could deduce subtle distinctions of character
+in the mere wielding of a spade.&nbsp; He had never seen, he said, any
+one dig so conscientiously and so intelligently as Birt.&nbsp; The tanner
+suddenly found that conscience might prove a factor even in so simple
+a matter as driving the old mule around the bark-mill.&nbsp; The boy
+who had taken Birt&rsquo;s place was a sullen, intractable fellow, and
+brutal.&nbsp; When he yelled and swore and plied the lash, the old mule
+would occasionally back his ears.&nbsp; The climax came one day when
+the rash boy kicked the animal.&nbsp; Now this reminded the mild-mannered
+old mule of his own youthful prowess as a kicker.&nbsp; He revived his
+reputation.&nbsp; He seemed to stand on his fore-legs and his muzzle,
+while his hind-legs played havoc behind him.&nbsp; The terrified boy
+dared not come near him.&nbsp; The bark-mill itself was endangered.&nbsp;
+Jube Perkins had not done so much work for a twelvemonth as in his efforts
+to keep the boy, the mule, and the bark-mill going together.<br/>
+<br/>
+There were no &ldquo;finds&rdquo; down by the lick to rejoice the professor,
+and he went away at last boneless, except in so far as nature had provided
+him.&nbsp; He left Birt amply rewarded for his labor.&nbsp; So independent
+did Mrs. Dicey feel with this sum of money in reserve, that she would
+not agree that Birt should work on the old terms with the tanner.&nbsp;
+Birt was dismayed by this temerity.&nbsp; Once more, however, he recognized
+her acumen, for Jubal Perkins, although he left the house in a huff,
+came back again and promised good wages.&nbsp; Ignorant and simple as
+she was, her keen instinct for her son&rsquo;s best interest, his true
+welfare, endowed her words with wisdom.&nbsp; Thenceforth he esteemed
+no friend, no ally, equal to his mother.<br/>
+<br/>
+It delighted him to witness her triumph in the proof of his innocence,
+and indeed she did not in this matter bear herself with meekness.&nbsp;
+It made him feel so prosperous to note her relapse into her old caustic
+habit of speech.&nbsp; Ah, if he were hurt or sore beset, every word
+would be tenderness.<br/>
+<br/>
+Birt shortly compassed a much desired object.&nbsp; The mule&rsquo;s
+revival of his ancient glories as a &ldquo;turrible kicker&rdquo; had
+injured his market value, and Birt&rsquo;s earnings enabled him to purchase
+the animal at a low price.&nbsp; The mule lived to a great age, always
+with his master as &ldquo;mild-mannered&rdquo; as a lamb.<br/>
+<br/>
+For some time Birt saw nothing of Nate, but one day the quondam friends
+met face to face on a narrow, precipitous path on the mountain side.&nbsp;
+Abject fear was expressed in Nate&rsquo;s sharp features, for escape
+was impossible.<br/>
+<br/>
+There was no need of either fear or flight.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;How air ye, I&rsquo;on Pyrite!&rdquo; cried Birt cheerfully.<br/>
+<br/>
+The martyr&rsquo;s countenance changed.<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye never done me right &rsquo;bout that thar mine, Birt Dicey,&rdquo;
+Nate said reproachfully.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye mus&rsquo; hev knowed from
+the fust ez them thar rocks war good fur nuthin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+&ldquo;Ye air the deceivinest sandy-headed Pyrite that ever war on the
+top o&rsquo; this mounting, an&rsquo; ye knows it,&rdquo; Birt retorted
+in high good humor; &ldquo;an&rsquo; ef it war wuth my while I&rsquo;d
+gin ye a old-fashion larrupin&rsquo; jes&rsquo; ter pay ye fur the trick
+ez ye played on me.&nbsp; But I ain&rsquo;t keerin&rsquo; fur that,
+now.&nbsp; Stan&rsquo; back thar, Tennessee!&rdquo;<br/>
+<br/>
+Since then, Tennessee, always preserving the influence she wielded that
+memorable night, has grown to be a woman - never pretty, but, as her
+brother still stoutly avers, &ldquo;powerful peart.&rdquo;
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 5306 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
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