UNCLE TOMMY.
Like a sensible young man, Harvey Hamilton had made a study of his
itinerary before leaving home. Allowing himself a margin of several
days, he expected to rejoin his friends at the end of a fortnight. If
all went well he would do so earlier, while there was always the
possibility that he might be absent still longer.
He knew that the little town nestling several miles to the left was
Darmore. It was at the base of a spur of the Alleghanies toward which he
had been working his way from the first. His wish was to pass beyond the
thickly settled districts. Nothing palls sooner upon an aviator than the
endless succession of towns, villages, cultivated sections and
monotonous scenery. While there must be a certain sameness in the
expanses of forest there was always the chance of adventure which a
normal youngster craves as he does his meals when hungry.
Harvey had meditated going to Darmore to renew his supply of fuel, but
recalled that after passing the mountain ridge, another and larger town
lay some miles away in the broad forest valley. He had enough gasoline
to carry him thither and he decided to make the trip. He followed his
general rule of not rising far above the altitude necessary to clear the
tallest trees and elevations. Thus, viewed far from the rear, the
aeroplane suggested that it was climbing the mountain side by resting
upon and sailing over the billowy sea of foliage.
The summit proper was no more than two or three hundred yards in height,
and having cleared it the young aviator mounted higher than before in
order to secure a comprehensive view of the surrounding country and
learn how correct his impressions were.
He was vastly pleased. Almost in a direct line and not far away lay
Chesterton, a town of several thousand population and in the midst of a
thriving section of the country. He traced the winding highways, the
scattered farm houses, the broad, cultivated fields, the signs of busy
life everywhere, and the enormous wealth of forest which continued up
the farther slope, crowned the top of the ridge and stretched down the
incline beyond.
The noisy motor in the sky and the queer looking object which seemed to
be advancing sideways and at a rapid pace, drew attention wherever it
was seen. Farmers riding over the dusty roads stopped their teams and
stared aloft until they got kinks in their necks; men and women climbed
to the roofs of their houses, as if the slight decrease of distance
would help them, and breathlessly studied the strange sight, some of the
spectators with the aid of spy-glasses; groups gathered on lawns,
porches and in front of their homes; every window of a passenger train,
to say nothing of the platforms, was wedged with curious observers,
while several white puffs which shot upward from the steam whistle
showed that the engineer was sending out a salutation to the aerial
wanderer who could not hear it. Everybody had read of aeroplanes and
seen pictures of them, but this was the first time the real thing had
sailed into their sea of vision and no picture can stir like the
actuality itself.
Two men, one of them carrying a gun, were walking over the high road, a
little way to the right, and probably two hundred yards from the
aeroplane. They had stopped and were surveying the strange object
overhead. One of them abruptly raised his weapon and the little faint
blue puff showed he had used the machine as his target. Instead of a
shotgun the fellow fired a rifle. It was impossible of course to hear
the report, but the sudden appearance of a small white spot on the
framework of the upper wing, showed where the bullet had nipped off a
splinter. Strange that so many people cannot observe a curious object
without yearning to shoot it.
Harvey looked around at Bohunkus, and by a nod and the expression of his
face asked whether he wished to be set down that he might properly
chastise the scamp. The colored youth shook his head. He had gone
through enough in that line to satisfy him. Harvey shied off and
speedily passed beyond range. The fellow did not try a second shot.
Thus far the weather had been ideal, but a disagreeable change
threatened. The sun was hidden by clouds, which increased in density and
number, and the air became so chilly that both shivered. Harvey headed
for Chesterton, for it was evident that soon all pleasure in aerial
sailing would be ended for the time.
The approach of the aeroplane roused the usual excitement in the little
country town, and when Harvey descended in an open space near the
collection of houses, half a hundred people rushed thither to greet and
give him whatever help he needed. He aimed to make a graceful landing so
as properly to impress the spectators, but he got another reminder of
the astonishing sensitiveness of the aeroplane, which must be handled
far differently from an automobile. He was not quick enough in shifting
the lever and hit the ground with so violent a bump that Bohunkus, who
was not expecting anything of the kind, was thrown headlong from his
perch and landed in a sitting posture with so loud a grunt that the
onlookers laughed.
“What’s de matter wid yo’?” he asked angrily; “dat’s de right way to
come down in an airyplane. Hab yo’ any ’bjections?”
“It’s the way _you_ land,” replied one of the men, “because you don’t
know any better.”
Bohunkus would have been glad to make a scathing retort, but was unable
to think of one. So he said in the way of reproof to his companion:
“De next time yo’s gwine to try to knock a hole fru de airth, let me
know so I can jump.”
“It will do you as much good to jump afterward as before. It looks to me
as if a storm is coming, Bunk, and we must get the machine under
shelter.”
The pleasant feature about the situation was that the crowd which had
gathered and continued to gather was a friendly one. No one spoke an
ill-natured word and all were eager to help in every way possible.
When Harvey stood on the ground, facing the group, he asked:
“Are we going to have a rain?”
“_He’s_ the man that’ll tell you all about the weather for a week to
come and hit it every time.”
The one who spoke pointed to an old farmer, without coat or waistcoat,
with a ragged straw hat, chin whiskers and bent shoulders, who was
chewing tobacco after the manner of a cow masticating her cud.
“How is it, Uncle Tommy?” asked the man who had just spoken.
The old fellow, still chewing, looked up at the sky and then around the
heavens, squinting one eye as he carefully studied the signs.
“It’ll rain like all creation inside of a couple of hours; then it’ll
hold up a little while and bime by start in agin and drizzle all night.”
“How about to-morrow?” asked Harvey.
“It’ll be bright and clear, but a little cooler than to-day.”
“Tell the young gentleman how the rest of the week will be,” insisted
his neighbor.
“The next three days will be clear and rayther warmish; I won’t say
anything beyond that this afternoon, but if ye wanter know, I’ll obleege
ye to-morrer when I’ve had a snifter and my breakfast.”
“I am much obliged; you have told me what I wanted to know. I shall need
shelter for this aeroplane; can any of you gentlemen help me?”
There was less difficulty than Harvey anticipated. Chesterton had a
single large hotel or tavern as the townspeople called it, with the
usual rows of sheds for the convenience of countrymen when they drove in
from the neighborhood. With the help of several bystanders the machine
was shoved over the road and through the alley—where much care was
necessary to save the wings from injury—to the sheds at the rear. There,
after some delicate maneuvering, the machine was worked into the shelter
at the corner, where a fair hangar was secured.
“Here we stay till the weather clears,” said Harvey to Bunk, as they
strolled into the hotel to get their dinner, for which each had a keen
appetite.
Where all showed so hospitable a disposition, Harvey felt little fear of
any harm to the aeroplane, though Bohunkus strolled out once or twice to
make sure everything was right. After the meal the young aviator seated
himself in the utility room, as it may be called. This was connected by
a door that was always open with the bar, and was intended for the
convenience of those who wished something a little less public. It was
provided with several chairs, a round table standing in the middle of
the apartment, and had a sanded floor and a few cheap sporting prints on
the walls. A half dozen men were seated around, most of them with feet
elevated on other chairs or the window sills, while they gossiped of the
affairs of the neighborhood. They showed little interest in Harvey and
Bunk. The former obtained pen, paper and ink from the landlord and spent
a part of the afternoon in writing to his parents and to brother Dick in
the Adirondacks. He named a town in advance which he expected to reach
at the end of a week, as the proper one to which to address their
replies. This duty attended to, Harvey looked at Bunk, whose cap had
fallen on the floor as he leaned back in his chair and slept. There was
no prejudice so far as yet shown against his race in that section and he
was not annoyed by any one.
Recalling the words of the old weather prophet, Harvey went out on the
long covered porch in front of the hotel. The two hours had passed and
the rain was coming down in torrents. Then, just as the venerable farmer
had said would be the case, it slackened, with the promise of renewal
before nightfall.
“Some of those old fellows can beat the government every time,”
reflected Harvey; “I shall believe Uncle Tommy until I see the proof of
his mistake. Well, I declare!”
It happened at that moment that Harvey Hamilton was the only person on
the porch, where several wooden chairs awaited occupants. Here and there
a man or woman could be seen hurrying along the sloppy street, all eager
to reach home or shelter. The youth’s exclamation was caused by sight of
an unusually tall man, in a long, flapping linen duster, striding
forward on the same side as the tavern, so that he passed within a dozen
paces of where the astonished youth stared wonderingly at him, for,
without his distinctive attire, the long grizzled beard and glowing
black eyes identified him at once.
“How are you, Professor?” called Harvey; “I’m mighty glad to see you
again.”
The individual upon being hailed looked at the young man as if he had
never seen him before, and then, without the slightest sign of
recognition, stalked up the street and out of sight.