Page 8 - Adventures of Peterkin Paul

a I tirgL- s.lice of bivad and molasses which lie was Its- J< H i I H i! Woodchuck 1 Sic him, Towscr I
dustriously devouring, bestowing a considerable por­ Sic him t ”
tion cf the molasses itself about his mouth as well This was the cry that Miitiades heard; and then,
as within it. Our hero ill once remembered that lie feeling a dog nosing and growling and biting at llis
had had up breakfast and was very hungry,, so lie feet, he buried himself as deeply as he could in the
hay and kicked away with nil his might with his
rubber boots. Suddenly, however, he felt himself
firmly seized by die ankle and then with a rapid mo­
tion found himself drawn forth to the light, lie
struggled and kicked an instant longer and then
M1LTMDES AND AnDNTRAM EWJOVlNr. TKKIJt ItREAD AND
opening his eyes, perceived that he was in the grasp
HOl.ASSES.
of a big, good-natured looking farmer, who was
begged Adoniram to give him a bit of the bread. laughing with all his might.
This the latter firmly declined to d o ; blit lie said that “ You’re a pretty woodchuck, van a re! ’’ cried the
if Miitiades would go home with him, his mother man, 11 What are ye burrowing here under my hay­
would give him a slice. So together they went stack fo r? " And he laughed again, as he set our
around to a house near by and each reoeived a gen­ hero once moTC on his feel and stood looking at
erous slice of bread well spread with molasses. And him,
then, going out again, they sat down upon a lo g — Miitiades, however, his injured pride now getting
like General Marion and the British officer, eating the better of his alarm, vouchsafed no reply al all,
their sweet potatoes — and enjoyed the feast. Mil* hut turned and inarched away. And presently look­
tiades thought this event also worthy of record and ing up and seeing that the sun was right there before
at once made another entry in his journal. him the sam e as ever, he continued his travels.
Afterwards Miitiades and Adoniram played a game When he came to a convenient place, however, he
of marbles together and our hero got so interested
jhat he forgot all about what he had started out fo r ;
and the forenoon was nearly half gone when at length
he remembered himself. He bade his friend a hasty
adieu and resumed his journey at a rapid rate, deter-
mined to make up for the time he had lost.
He continued on for a long while, most of his way
lying across the open fields. Now and then he came
to a field of com or a running brook or a lofty h ill;
but he held his way straight on or over them all,
keeping his face set straight toward the sun and per­
mitting nothing to turn him aside. halted iong enough 10 make a minute of the affair in
By and by. however, it so happened that he came his book.
upon a large bay-stack [hat stood directly in his path. About eleven o’clock (although for that matter,
He paused for a moment and hvoked at it m some Miitiades himself had thought nothing at all about
dismay. It seemed to be too high for him to climb the time) our yonng voyager came upon an obstacle
over and he did not for a moment entertain any mori> serious than any which he bad yet encountered.
thought of going around it He must go straight This was no oilier than a good-sized pond which lay
ahead, and in order to do that he must go through the directly in his path and which was evidently too
haystack. So he immediately got down on his knees deep to he waded through, Miitiades sat down upon
and began pulling away the hay in order to make a the bank quite disconsolate. He did not knOW what
passage for himself. He had presently made such to (Id. He could neither go under hot over nor
considerable progress at this task that he was almost across the pond; and there was the sun, toward
buried from sight, when he all at once heard, first the which he was to journey, directly on the opposite
barking of a dog and tlien a great shouting and side. And of course, to turn and try to go around
stamping outside. the pond would be to go in quite a different direction