A CABIN IN THE WOODS.
Walter found a good dinner ready for him at twelve o'clock, which he
enjoyed the more because he felt that he had earned it in advance. He
waited till about two o'clock, and again set out, this time in a
different direction. As it takes all sorts of people to make a world, so
the reception he met with at different places differed. In some he was
received politely; in others he was treated as a humbug. But Walter was
by this time getting accustomed to his position, and found that he must
meet disagreeable people with as good humor as he could command. One
farmer was willing to take the book if he would accept pay in apples, of
which he offered him two barrels; but this offer he did not for a moment
entertain, judging that he would find it difficult to carry about the
apples, and probably difficult to dispose of them. However, he managed
to sell two copies, though he had to call at twenty places to do it.
Nevertheless, he felt well repaid by the degree of success he met with.
"Five books sold to-day!" thought Walter, complacently, as he started on
his walk home. "That gives me six dollars and a quarter profit. I wish I
could keep that up."
But our young merchant found that he was not likely to keep up such
sales. The next day he sold but two copies, and the day succeeding
three. Still for three days and a half the aggregate sale was eleven
copies, making a clear profit of thirteen dollars and seventy-five
cents. At the end of the week he had sold twenty copies; but to make up
this number he had been obliged to visit one or two neighboring
villages.
He now prepared to move on. The next place at which he proposed to stop
for a few days we will call Bolton. He had already written to Cleveland
for a fresh supply of books to be forwarded to him there. He had but two
books left, and his baggage being contained in a small valise, he
decided to walk this distance, partly out of economy, but principally
because it would enable him to see the country at his leisure. During
the first five miles he succeeded in selling both books, which relieved
him of the burden of carrying them, leaving him only his valise.
Walter was strong and stout, and enjoyed his walk. There was a freshness
and novelty about his present mode of life, which he liked. He did not
imagine he should like to be a book-agent all his life, but for a time
he found it quite agreeable.
He stopped under the shade of a large elm and ate the lunch which he had
brought with him from the inn. The sandwiches and apples were good, and,
with the addition of some water from a stream near by, made a very
acceptable lunch. When he resumed his walk after resting a couple of
hours, the weather had changed. In the morning it was bright sunshine.
Now the clouds had gathered, and a storm seemed imminent. To make
matters worse, Walter had managed to stray from the road. He found
himself walking in a narrow lane, lined on either side by thick woods.
Soon the rain come pattering down, at first in small drops, but quickly
poured down in a drenching shower. Walter took refuge in the woods,
congratulating himself that he had sold the books, which otherwise would
have run the risk of being spoiled.
"I wish there were some house near by in which I could rest," thought
Walter. The prospect of being benighted in the woods in such weather was
far from pleasant.
Looking around anxiously, he espied a small foot-path, which he
followed, hoping, but hardly expecting, that it might lead to some place
of refuge. To his agreeable surprise he emerged after a few minutes into
a small clearing, perhaps half an acre in extent, in the middle of which
was a rough cabin. It was a strange place for a house, but, rude as it
was, Walter hailed its appearance with joy. At all events it promised
protection from the weather, and the people who occupied it would
doubtless be willing to give him, for pay of course, supper and lodging.
Probably the accommodations would not be first class, but our hero was
prepared to take what he could get, and be thankful for it. Accordingly
he advanced fearlessly and pounded on the door with his fist, as there
was neither bell nor knocker.
The door not being opened immediately, he pounded again. This time a
not particularly musical voice was heard from within:--
"Is that you, Jack?"
"No," answered Walter, "it isn't Jack."
His voice was probably recognized as that of a boy, and any apprehension
that might have been felt by the person within was dissipated. Walter
heard a bolt withdrawn, and the door opening revealed a tall, gaunt,
bony woman, who eyed him in a manner which could not be considered very
friendly or cordial.
"Who are you?" she demanded abruptly, keeping the door partly closed.
"I am a book-agent," said Walter.
"Do you expect to sell any books here?" asked the woman, with grim
humor.
"No," said Walter, "but I have been caught in the storm, and lost my
way. Can I stop here over night if the storm should hold on?"
"This isn't a tavern," said the woman, ungraciously.
"No, I suppose not," said Walter; "but it will be a favor to me if you
will take me in, and I will pay you whatever you think right. I suppose
there is no tavern near by."
He half hoped there might be, for he had already made up his mind that
this would not be a very agreeable place to stop at.
"There's one five miles off," said the woman.
"That's too far to go in such weather. If you'll let me stay here, I
will pay you whatever you ask in advance."
"Humph!" said the woman, doubtfully, "I don't know how Jack will like
it."
As Walter could know nothing of the sentiments of the Jack referred to,
he remained silent, and waited for the woman to make up her mind,
believing that she would decide in his favor.
He proved to be right.
"Well," she said, half unwillingly, "I don't know but I'll take you in,
though it isn't my custom to accommodate travellers."
"I will try not to give you much trouble," said Walter, relieved to find
that he was sure of food and shelter.
"Humph!" responded the woman.
She led the way into the building, which appeared to contain two rooms
on the first floor, and probably the same number of chambers above.
There was no entry, but the door opened at once into the kitchen.
"Come up to the fire if you're wet," said the woman.
The invitation was hospitable, but the manner was not. However, Walter
was glad to accept the invitation, without thinking too much of the
manner in which it was expressed, for his clothes were pretty well
saturated by the rain. There was no stove, but an old brick fireplace,
on which two stout logs were burning. There was one convenience at least
about living in the woods. Fuel was abundant, and required nothing but
the labor of cutting it.
"I think I'll take off my shoes," said Walter.
"You can if you want to," said his grim hostess.
He extended his wet feet towards the fire, and felt a sense of comfort
stealing over him. He could hear the rain falling fiercely against the
sides of the cabin, and felt glad that he was not compelled to stand the
brunt of the storm.
[Illustration]
He looked around him guardedly, not wishing to let his hostess see that
he was doing so, for she looked like one who might easily be offended.
The room seemed remarkably bare of furniture. There was an unpainted
table, and there were also three chairs, one of which had lost its back.
These were plain wooden chairs, and though they appeared once to have
been painted, few vestiges of the original paint now remained. On a
shelf were a few articles of tin, but no articles of crockery were
visible, except two cracked cups. Walter had before this visited the
dwellings of the poor, but he had never seen a home so poorly provided
with what are generally regarded as the necessaries of life.
"I wonder what Lem would say if he should see me now," thought Walter,
his thoughts going back to the Essex Classical Institute, and the friend
whose studies he shared. They seemed far away, those days of careless
happiness, when as yet the burdens of life were unfelt and scarcely even
dreamed of. Did Walter sigh for their return? I think not, except on one
account. His father was then alive, and he would have given years of his
own life to recall that loved parent from the grave. But I do not think
he would have cared, for the present at least, to give up his business
career, humble though it was, and go back to his studies. He enjoyed the
novelty of his position. He enjoyed even his present adventure, in spite
of the discomforts that attended it, and there was something exciting in
looking about him, and realizing that he was a guest in a rough cabin in
the midst of the woods, a thousand miles away from home.
Guarded as he had been in looking around him, it did not escape without
observation.
"Well, young man, this is a poor place, isn't it?" asked the woman,
suddenly.
"I don't know," said Walter, wishing to be polite.
"That's what you're thinkin', I'll warrant," said the woman. "Well,
you're not obliged to stay, if you don't want to."
"But I do want to, and I am very much obliged to you for consenting to
take me," said Walter, hastily.
"You said you would pay in advance," said the woman.
"So I will," said Walter, taking out his pocket-book, "if you will tell
me how much I am to pay."
"You may give me a dollar," said the woman.
Walter drew out a roll of bills, and, finding a one-dollar note, handed
it to the woman.
She took it, glancing covetously at the remaining money which he
replaced in his pocket-book. Walter noticed the glance, and, though he
was not inclined to be suspicious, it gave him a vague feeling of
anxiety.