There are about fifty things I'd like to do. But to fell and
dry the trees and get the walls up come first, I believe. What do you
think, old unreliable?”
Belshazzar thought the world was a place of beauty that morning. He
sniffed the icy, odorous air and with tilted head watched the birds.
A wearied band of ducks had settled on Loon Lake to feed and rest,
for there was nothing to disturb them. Signs were numerous everywhere
prohibiting hunters from firing over the Harvester's land. Beside
the lake, down the valley, crossing the railroad, and in the farther
lowlands, the dog was a nervous quiver, as he constantly scented game
or saw birds he wanted to point. But when they neared the city, he sat
silently watching everything with alert eyes. As they reached the outer
fringe of residences the Harvester spoke to him.
“Now remember, Bel,” he said. “Point me the tallest girl you ever saw,
with a big braid of dark hair, shining black eyes, and red velvet lips,
sweeter than wild crab apple blossoms. Make a dead set! Don't allow her
to pass us. Heaven is going to begin in Medicine Woods when we find her
and prove to her that there lies her happy home.
“When we find her,” repeated the Harvester softly and exultantly. “When
we find her!”
He said it again and again, pronouncing the words with tender
modulations. Because he was chanting it in his soul, in his heart,
in his brain, with his lips, he had a hasty glance for every woman
he passed. Light hair, blue eyes, and short figures got only casual
inspection: but any tall girl with dark hair and eyes endured rather
close scrutiny that morning. He drove to the express office and
delivered his packages and then to the hospital. In the hall the
blue-eyed nurse met him and cried gaily, “Good morning, Medicine Man!”
“Ugh! I scalp pale-faces!” threatened the Harvester, but the girl was
not afraid and stood before him laughing. She might have gone her way
quite as well. She could not have differed more from the girl of the
newly begun quest. The man merely touched his wide-brimmed hat as he
walked around her and entered the office of the chief surgeon.
A slender, gray-eyed man with white hair turned from his desk, smiled
warmly, pushed a chair, and reached a welcoming hand.
“Ah good-morning, David,” he cried. “You bring the very breath of spring
with you. Are you at the maples yet?”
“Begin to-morrow,” was the answer. “I want to get all my old stock off
hands. Sugar water comes next, and then the giddy sassafras and spring
roots rush me, and after that, harvest begins full force, and all
my land is teeming. This is going to be a big year. Everything is
sufficiently advanced to be worth while. I have decided to enlarge the
buildings.”
“Store-room too small?”
“Everything!” said the Harvester comprehensively. “I am crowded
everywhere.”
The keen gray eyes bent on him searchingly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account