Winning His Way

by Charles Carleton Coffin

  CHAPTER II.

  HARD TIMES.

  How lonesome the days when dear friends leave us to return no more, whomwe never shall see again on earth, who will send us no message or letterof love from the far distant land whither they have gone! It tries ourhearts and brings tears to our eyes to lay them in the ground. But shallwe never, never see them again? Yes, when we have taken the samejourney, when we have closed our eyes on earth and opened them inheaven.

  As the months rolled by, the Pensioner's eyes grew dim. He became weakand feeble. "The Pensioner won't stand it long," the people said.

  He did not rise one morning when breakfast was ready.

  "Come, grandpa," said Paul, opening the bedroom door and calling him;but there was no reply. He lay as if asleep; but his brow was cold, andhis heart had stopped beating. He had died calmly and peacefully, andwas forever at rest.

  It was a sad day to Paul when he followed the body of his dear oldgrandfather to the grave; but when he stood by his coffin, and lookedfor the last time upon his grandfather's face, and saw how peaceful itwas and how pleasant the smile which rested upon it, as if he wasbeholding beautiful scenes,--when Paul remembered how good he was, hecould not feel it in his soul to say, "Come back, Grandpa"; he would becontent as it was. But the days were long and dreary, and so were thenights. Many the hours which Paul passed lying awake in his bed, lookingthrough the crevices of the poor old house, and watching the stars andthe clouds as they went sailing by. So he was sailing on, and thequestion would come up, Whither? He listened to the water falling overthe dam by the mill, and to the chirping of the crickets, and thesighing of the wind, and the church-bell tolling the hours: they weresweet, yet mournful and solemn sounds. Tears stood in his eyes androlled down his cheeks, as he thought that he and his mother were onearth, and his father and grandfather were praising God in the heavenlychoirs. But he resolved to be good, to take care of his mother, and beher comfort and joy.

  Hard times came on. How to live was the great question; for now that hisgrandfather was gone, they could have the pension no longer. Theneighbors were very kind. Sometimes Mr. Middlekauf, Hans's father, whohad a great farm, left a bag of meal for them when he came into thevillage. There was little work for Paul to do in the village; but hekept their own garden in good trim,--the onion-bed clear of weeds, andthe potatoes well hilled. Very pleasant it was to work there, where thehoney-bees hummed over the beds of sage, and among his mother's flowers,and where bumble-bees dusted their yellow jackets in the hollyhocks.Swallows also built their nests under the eaves of the house, and madethe days pleasant with their merry twittering.

  The old Pensioner had been a land surveyor. The compass which he usedwas a poor thing; but he had run many lines with it through the grandold forest. One day, as Paul was weeding the onions, it occurred to himthat he might become a surveyor; so he went into the house, took thecompass from its case, and sat down to study it. He found hisgrandfather's surveying-book, and began to study that. Some parts werehard and dry; but having resolved to master it, he was not the boy togive up a good resolution. It was not long before he found out how torun a line, how to set off angles, and how to ascertain the distanceacross a river or pond without measuring it. He went into the woods, andstripped great rolls of birch bark from the trees, carried them home,spread them out on the table, and plotted his lines with his dividersand ruler. He could not afford paper. He took great pleasure in making asketch of the ground around the house, the garden, the orchard, thefield, the road, and the river.

  The people of New Hope had long been discussing the project of buildinga new road to Fairview, which would cross the pond above the mill. Butthere was no surveyor in the region to tell them how long the bridgemust be which they would have to build.

  "We will send up a kite, and thus get a string across the pond," saidone of the citizens.

  "I can ascertain the distance easier than that," said Paul.

  Mr. Pimpleberry, the carpenter, who was to build the bridge, laughed,and looked with contempt upon him, Paul thought, because he was barefootand had a patch on each knee.

  "Have you ever measured it, Paul?" Judge Adams asked.

  "No, sir; but I will do so just to let Mr. Pimpleberry see that I can doit."

  He ran into the house, brought out the compass, went down to the edge ofthe pond, drove a small stake in the ground, set his compass over it,and sighted a small oak-tree upon the other side of the pond. Ithappened that the tree was exactly south from the stake; then he turnedthe sights of his compass so that they pointed exactly east and west.Then he took Mr. Pimpleberry's ten-foot pole, and measured out fiftyfeet toward the west, and drove another stake. Then he set his compassthere, and took another sight at the small oak-tree across the pond. Itwas not south now, but several degrees east of south. Then he turned hiscompass so that the sights would point just the same number of degreesto the east of north.

  "Now, Mr. Pimpleberry," said Paul, "I want you to stand out there, andhold your ten-foot pole just where I tell you, putting yourself in rangewith the stake I drove first and the tree across the pond."

  Mr. Pimpleberry did as he was desired.

  "Drive a stake where your pole stands," said Paul.

  Mr. Pimpleberry did so.

  "Now measure the distance from the one you have just driven to my firststake, and that will be the distance across the pond," said Paul.

  "I don't believe it," said Mr. Pimpleberry.

  "Paul is right," said Judge Adams. "I understand the principle. He hasdone it correctly."

  The Judge was proud of him. Mr. Pimpleberry and Mr. Funk, and severalother citizens, were astonished; for they had no idea that Paul could doanything of the kind. Notwithstanding Paul had given the true distance,he received no thanks from any one; yet he didn't care for that; for hehad shown Mr. Pimpleberry that he could do it, and that was gloryenough.

  Paul loved fun as well as ever. Rare times he had at school. One windyday, a little boy, when he entered the school-room, left the door open."Go back and shut the door," shouted Mr. Cipher, who was very irritablethat morning. Another boy entered, and left it open. Mr. Cipher wasangry, and spoke to the whole school: "Any one who comes in to-day anddoes not shut the door will get a flogging. Now remember!" Being veryawkward in his manners, inefficient in government, and shallow-brainedand vain, he commanded very little respect from the scholars.

  "Boys, there is a chance for us to have a jolly time with Cipher," saidPaul at recess.

  "What is it?" Hans Middlekauf asked, ready for fun of any sort. The boysgathered round, for they knew that Paul was a capital hand in inventinggames.

  "You remember what Cipher said about leaving the door open."

  "Well, what of it?" Hans Middlekauf asked.

  "Let every one of us show him that we can obey him. When he raps for usto go in, I want you all to form in line. I'll lead off, go in and shutthe door; you follow next, Hans, and be sure and shut the door; you comenext, Philip; then Michael, and so on,--every one shutting the door. Ifyou don't, remember that Cipher has promised to flog you."

  The boys saw through the joke, and laughed heartily. "Jingo, that is agood one, Paul. Cipher will be as mad as a March hare. I'll make the olddoor rattle," said Hans.

  Rap--rap--rap--rap! went the master's ruler upon the window.

  "Fall into line, boys," said Paul. They obeyed orders as if he were ageneral. "Now remember, every one of you, to shut the door just as soonas you are in. Do it quick, and take your seats. Don't laugh, but be assober as deacons." There was giggling in the ranks. "Silence!" saidPaul. The boys smoothed their faces. Paul opened the door, stepped in,and shut it in an instant,--slam! Hans opened it,--slam! it went, with ajar which made the windows rattle. Philip followed,--slam! Michaelnext,--bang! it went, jarring the house.

  "Let the door be open," said Cipher; but Michael was in his seat;and--bang! again,--slam!--bang!--slam!--bang! it went.

  "Let it be open, I say!" he roared, but the boys outside did not hearhim, a
nd it kept going,--slam!--slam!--slam!--bang!--bang!--bang!--tillthe fiftieth boy was in.

  "You started that, sir," Cipher said, addressing Paul, for he haddiscovered that Paul Parker loved fun, and was a leading spirit amongthe boys.

  "I obeyed your orders, sir," Paul replied ready to burst into a roar atthe success of his experiment.

  "Did you not tell the boys to slam the door as hard as they could?"

  "No, sir. I told them to remember what you had said, and that, if theydidn't shut the door, they would get a flogging."

  "That is just what he said, Master," said Hans Middlekauf, brimming overwith fun. Cipher could not dispute it. He saw that they had literallyobeyed his orders, and that he had been outwitted. He did not know whatto do; and being weak and inefficient, did nothing.

  Paul loved hunting and fishing; on Saturday afternoons he made the woodsring with the crack of his grandfather's gun, bringing squirrels fromthe tallest trees, and taking quails upon the wing. He was quick to see,and swift to take aim. He was cool of nerve, and so steady of aim thathe rarely missed. It was summer, and he wore no shoes. He walked solightly that he scarcely rustled a leaf. The partridges did not see himtill he was close upon them, and then, before they could rise from theircover flash!--bang!--and they went into his bag.

  One day as he was on his return from the woods, with the gun upon hisshoulder, and the powder-horn at his side, he saw a gathering of peoplein the street. Men, women, and children were out,--the women withoutbonnets. He wondered what was going on. Some women were wringing theirhands; and all were greatly excited.

  "O dear, isn't it dreadful!" "What will become of us?" "The Lord havemercy upon us!"--were the expressions which he heard. Then they wrungtheir hands again, and moaned.

  "What is up?" he asked of Hans Middlekauf.

  "Haven't you heard?"

  "No, what is it?"

  "Why, there is a big black bull-dog, the biggest that ever was, that hasrun mad. He has bitten ever so many other dogs, and horses, sheep, andcattle. He is as big as a bear, and froths at the mouth. He is thesavagest critter that ever was," said Hans in a breath.

  "Why don't somebody kill him?"

  "They are afraid of him," said Hans.

  "I should think they might kill him," Paul replied.

  "I reckon you would run as fast as anybody else, if he should showhimself round here," said Hans.

  "There he is! Run! run! run for your lives!" was the sudden cry.

  Paul looked up the street, and saw a very large bull-dog coming upon thetrot. Never was there such a scampering. People ran into the nearesthouses, pellmell. One man jumped into his wagon, lashed his horse into arun, and went down the street, losing his hat in his flight, while HansMiddlekauf went up a tree.

  "Run, Paul! Run! he'll bite you!" cried Mr. Leatherby from the window ofhis shoe-shop. People looked out from the windows and repeated the cry,a half-dozen at once; but Paul took no notice of them. Those who werenearest him heard the click of his gun-lock. The dog came nearer,growling, and snarling, his mouth wide open, showing his teeth, his eyesglaring, and white froth dripping from his lips. Paul stood alone in thestreet. There was a sudden silence. It was a scene for a painter,--abarefoot boy in patched clothes, with an old hat on his head, standingcalmly before the brute whose bite was death in its most terrible form.One thought had taken possession of Paul's mind, that he ought to killthe dog.

  Nearer, nearer, came the dog; he was not a rod off. Paul had read thatno animal can withstand the steady gaze of the human eye. He looked thedog steadily in the face. He held his breath. Not a nerve trembled. Thedog stopped, looked at Paul a moment, broke into a louder growl, openedhis jaws wider, his eyes glaring more wildly, and stepped slowlyforward. Now or never, Paul thought, was his time. The breach of the guntouched his shoulder; his eye ran along the barrel,--bang! the dogrolled over with a yelp and a howl, but was up again, growling andtrying to get at Paul, who in an instant seized his gun by the barrel,and brought the breech down upon the dog's skull, giving him blow afterblow.

  "Kill him! kill him!" shouted the people from the windows.

  "Give it to him! Mash his head!" cried Hans from the tree.

  The dog soon became a mangled and bloody mass of flesh and bones. Thepeople came out from their houses.

  "That was well done for a boy," said Mr. Funk.

  "Or for a man either," said Mr. Chrome, who came up and patted Paul onhis back.

  "I should have thrown my lapstone at him, if I could have got my windowopen," said Mr. Leatherby. Mr. Noggin, the cooper, who had taken refugein Leatherby's shop, afterwards said that Leatherby was frightened halfto death, and kept saying, "Just as like as not he will make a springand dart right through the window!"

  "Nobly, bravely done, Paul," said Judge Adams. "Let me shake hands withyou, my boy." He and Mrs. Adams and Azalia had seen it all from theirparlor window.

  "O Paul, I was afraid he would bite and kill you, or that your gun wouldmiss fire. I trembled all over just like a leaf," said Azalia, stillpale and trembling. "O, I am so glad you have killed him!" She looked upinto his face earnestly, and there was such a light in her eyes, thatPaul was glad he had killed the dog, for her sake.

  "Weren't you afraid, Paul?" she asked.

  "No. If I had been afraid, I should have missed him, perhaps; I made upmy mind to kill him, and what was the use of being afraid?"

  Many were the praises bestowed upon Paul. "How noble! how heroic!" thepeople said. Hans told the story to all the boys in the village. "Paulwas just as cool as--cool as--a cucumber," he said, that being the bestcomparison he could think of. The people came and looked at the dog, tosee how large he was, and how savage, and went away saying, "I am gladhe is dead, but I don't see how Paul had the courage to face him."

  Paul went home and told his mother what had happened. She turned palewhile listening to the story, and held her breath, and clasped herhands; but when he had finished, and when she thought that, if Paul hadnot killed the dog, many might have been bitten, she was glad, and said,"You did right, my son. It is our duty to face danger if we can dogood." A tear glistened in her eye as she kissed him. "God bless you,Paul," she said, and smiled upon him through her tears.

  All the dogs which had been bitten were killed to prevent them fromrunning mad. A hard time of it the dogs of New Hope had, for some whichhad not been bitten did not escape the dog-killers, who went through thetown knocking them over with clubs.

  Although Paul was so cool and courageous in the moment of danger, hetrembled and felt weak afterwards when he thought of the risk he hadrun. That night when he said his evening prayer, he thanked God forhaving protected him. He dreamed it all over again in the night. He sawthe dog coming at him with his mouth wide open, the froth dropping fromhis lips, and his eyes glaring. He heard his growl,--only it was not agrowl, but a branch of the old maple which rubbed against the house whenthe wind blew. That was what set him a-dreaming. In his dream he had nogun, so he picked up the first thing he could lay his hands on, and letdrive at the dog. Smash! there was a great racket, and a jingling ofglass. Paul was awake in an instant, and found that he had jumped out ofbed, and was standing in the middle of the floor, and that he hadknocked over the spinning-wheel, and a lot of old trumpery, and hadthrown one of his grandfather's old boots through the window.

  "What in the world are you up to, Paul?" his mother asked, calling fromthe room below, in alarm.

  "Killing the dog a second time, mother," Paul replied, laughing andjumping into bed again.