When Life Was Young: At the Old Farm in MaineStephens, C. A. (Charles Asbury)
General
When Life Was Young: At the Old Farm in Maine
Stephens, C. A. (Charles Asbury)
Farm life -- Juvenile fiction; Maine -- Juvenile fiction
We scrambled down the steep side of the gorge to the log camp, found the
old door ajar and pushed in out of the storm. There was a strange smell
inside, a kind of animal odor. By good fortune Addison had a few matches
in the pocket of the old coat which he had worn, when we went on the
camping-trip to the "old slave's farm." He struck one and we found some
dry stuff and kindled a fire in the rusted stove. There were several
logger's axes in the camp; and Tom cut up a dry log for fuel; we then
sat around the stove and warmed ourselves.
"I expect that the folks will worry about us," Thomas said soberly.
"Well, it cannot be helped," replied Addison.
"But we haven't a morsel to eat here," said Halse. "I'm awfully hungry,
too."
Thereupon Tom jumped up and began rummaging, looking in two pork
barrels, a flour barrel and several boxes. "Not a scrap of meat and no
flour," he exclaimed. "But here are a few quarts of white beans in the
bottom of this flour barrel; and we have got the sheep salt. What say to
boiling some beans? Here's an old kettle."
"Let's do it!" cried Halse.
A kettle of beans was put on and the fire kept up, as we sat around, for
two or three hours. Meantime the storm outside was getting worse. Fine
snow was sifting into the old camp at all the cracks and crevices. The
cold, too, was increasing; the roaring of the forest was at times
awe-inspiring. On peeping out at the door, nothing could be discerned;
snow like a dense white powder filled the air. Already a foot of snow
had banked against the door; the one little window was whitened.
Occasionally, above the roar in the tree-tops, could be heard a distant,
muffled crash, and Tom would exclaim, "There went a tree!"
We got our beans boiled passably soft, after awhile, and being very
hungry were able to eat a part of them, well salted. Boiled beans can be
eaten, but they can never rank as a table luxury.
While chewing our beans, toward the end of the repast, an odd sound
began to be heard, as of some animal digging at the door, also
snuffling, whimpering sounds. We listened for some moments.
"Boys, you don't suppose that's Tyro, do you?" cried Tom at length.
"I'll bet it is! He has taken my track and followed us away up
here!"--and jumping up, Tom ran to the door. "Tyro" was a small dog
owned at the Edwards homestead.
When, however, he opened the door a little, there crept in, whimpering,
not Tyro, but a small, dark-colored animal, which the faint light given
out from the stove scarcely enabled us to identify. The creature ran
behind the barrels; and Tom clapped the door to. Addison lighted a
splinter and we tried to see what it was; but it had run under the long
bunk where the loggers once slept. After a flurry, we drove it out in
sight again, when Tom shouted that it was a little "beezling" of a bear!
"Yes, sir-ee, that's a little runt of a bear cub," he cried. "He's been
in this old camp before. That's what made it smell so when we came in."
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account