by Jacob Abbott
CHAPTER IX.
DIFFICULTY
Although it was winter when the boys were taking this ride, yet the sunwas shining in a very warm and pleasant manner, and the snow was everywhere softening in the fields and melting in the roads, indicating thatthe spring was coming on.
There was a little stream of water, coming down the hill in the middleof the road, and forming a long pool at the bottom. Jonas turned hishorse to one side, to avoid this pool of water, and waited until Olivercame up.
"Well, Oliver," said he,--"tired of the mill already?"
"Why, no," said Oliver, "only I thought that, on the whole, I'd rathergo with you. I didn't think that you were going to be gone so long."
"It is about two miles," said Jonas.
"Where are you going?" said Oliver.
"O, to see about some logs. I thought you heard your father tell me togo and see about some logs."
"What about the logs?" said Oliver.
"Why, to make the boards of, for the barn."
"O," replied Oliver, "I didn't know that."
"Yes," continued Jonas, "when we want boards, we have to go to somebodywho owns some pine timber in the woods, and get him to cut down some ofthem, and haul them to the mill. Then they saw them up, and makeboards."
"What mill?" said Oliver.
"At that saw-mill near the carding-mill. The mill down in the village,you know, is a grist-mill."
By this time, the boys had got to the top of the hill, and they got intothe sleigh, and rode along. Presently, they came to a place where Jonaswas going to turn off, into a sort of by-road which led away into thewoods, where the pine-trees grew. The man that owned the trees livedpretty near, in a farm-house.
"Is that the road that we are going in?" asked Oliver.
"Yes," said Jonas, "but it does not look very promising."
The road was filled up nearly full of snow. It had been hard, so thatthey could travel upon it pretty well; but the warm sun had softened thesnow so much, that the horses' feet sunk down into it, in some places,very deep. However, Jonas went along as well as he could.
"Let us get out and walk, Jonas," said Oliver.
"No," said Jonas, "that will not do much good; for it is the weight ofthe horse himself, that makes him sink into the snow, not the weight ofthe sleigh."
So the boys both continued to ride in the sleigh. They soon came intothe woods, where, the ground being sheltered by the trees above, thesnow lay more evenly upon it; and, though the horse slumped a little,yet he got along very comfortably.
At length, however, they came out of the woods into an opening. The roadwent along under a high bank, with a deep brook on the other side. Thewind, during the storms in the winter, had blown in over this bank, andfilled up the road entirely.
"Now," said Jonas, "I am afraid we're in difficulty."
"Why?" said Oliver; "is that a very bad place?"
"Yes," said Jonas, "it looks like a very bad place."
Oliver saw that the snow was very deep on the upper side of the road,and that it sloped away in such a manner that it would be very difficultfor them to get along, even if the road-way was hard.
"Perhaps it is hard," said Oliver.
"No," said Jonas, "I think it cannot be, for the bank slopes to thesouth, and the sun has been shining upon it all day. However, we musttry it."
The horse hesitated a moment when he came to this place, for he knew byinstinct that it would be very hard for him to get through it.
"Come, General," said Jonas. "Though, stop a moment, Oliver; perhaps wehad better get out and walk, or the sleigh may upset."
So they got out. Oliver walked by the horse, keeping on the upper sideof the road. Jonas went behind, taking hold of the back part of thesleigh, so as to hold it in case it should tip down too far. They wenton thus for some distance tolerably well. The horse sometimes got inpretty far, and for a moment would plunge and stagger, as if he couldhardly get along; but then he would work his way out, and go on a littlefarther.
At length, however, the old General came to a full stop. He sank down,shoulders under, in the snow. The more he struggled to get free, thedeeper he got in. Jonas stepped on before him, and patted him on thehead, and tried to quiet him.
"Jonas," said Oliver, "let us stop; I don't believe we can go anyfarther."
"Nor I," said Jonas. "At least I don't think we can get the old Generalany farther."
"Nor back again either," said Oliver, "as I see."
The boys stood still, looking upon the horse a moment, utterly at a losswhat to do.
"Oliver," said Jonas, "should you be willing to stay here and take careof the horse, while I go on and see about the logs?"
"Why--I--don't know," said Oliver. "I'm afraid he won't stand quiet."
"O, I shall get him out of the snow, first," said Jonas, "and take himto some level place, where he'll stand well."
"How shall you get him out?" asked Oliver.
"Why, we will unharness him first," said Jonas, "and then draw thesleigh back out of the way."
So Jonas began to unbuckle the straps of the harness, in order toliberate the horse. Oliver tried to help him, but he could not do much,the horse was so deep in the snow. And, besides, he was standing, orrather lying, in such a position, that many parts of the harness weredrawn so tense, that Oliver had not strength enough to unbuckle them.
However, Jonas at length got the sleigh separated from the horse, anddrew it back out of the way. He trampled the snow down around the horse,as much as he could, and then the horse, with a leap and a plunge,recovered his footing. He stood deep in the snow yet, however.
"Now," said Jonas, "where shall we put him till I come back?"
Oliver looked across the brook, and saw there, upon a bank, under sometrees, a spot which was bare. The reason why it was bare was, that thesnow had nearly all blown off during the storms; and then the sun, whichhad been shining for some days so pleasantly, had melted away what therehad been left; and now the ground was bare, and almost dry. But thedifficulty was to get to it; for it was upon the other side of thestream, and the bed of the stream was filled with water and ice.
"I wouldn't lead him over there," said Oliver. "I think you had bettergo home, and not do any thing about the timber."
"No," said Jonas.
"Why, father will not think you did wrong to give it up, when we gotinto such trouble," said Oliver.
"No, I don't suppose he would; but I'd rather carry him back an answer,if I can."
"Then let me go with you," said Oliver.
"Why, it is a long and very hard walk," said Jonas. "There is no work sohard as travelling in soft snow, without snow-shoes. If we had a pair ofsnow-shoes, we could get along very well."
"Did you ever see any snow-shoes?" said Oliver.
"No," replied Jonas, "but I have read about them. They are very largeand flat, and your foot stands in the middle of them, and so pressesthem upon the snow; and they are so large that they will not sink invery far."
While Jonas was saying this, he was climbing down to the bank of thebrook, with a pole in his hands, with which he was going to see if hecould find firm footing, for the horse to go across.
"Yes," said he, punching his pole down to the bottom of the brook; "yes,it isn't deep. The old General will get down here very well, I think."
So he and Oliver trampled a sort of path down to the brook, and thenthey led the old General down. He seemed a little reluctant, at first,to step into the water. However, he soon went in, and walked over, andOliver fastened him to a tree, so that he could stand upon the barepiece of ground. Jonas then pulled the sleigh out of the road, so thatit should not be in the way, if any body should come along with anyother team; then he bade Oliver good-by, and went on alone.
Jonas traveled along, as well as he could, through the snow, though hefound it very laborious walking. In some places, he found hard footingfor some distance; but then he would sink down again for severalsuccessive steps. After a short distance, he
got out of the deep drift,which had prevented the horse from going on, and then he could advancefaster. There was a singular-looking track in the road. It consisted ofa smooth groove in the snow, as if the end of a large log had beendragged along.
It was, in fact, made by a log which had been drawn along that roadtowards the mill. One end of the log had been placed upon a sled, andthe other left to drag along in the snow; and this was what made thesmooth groove, which Jonas observed. He did not see it before, becausethe man who drove the sled had turned out of the main road, into aby-way across the fields, to avoid the deep drift where Jonas's horsegot into difficulty.
Jonas found it pretty good walking after this. The snow was not so deepas it had been; and the path which the log had made was hard and smooth.He concluded that it must have been made by such a log, and, of course,if he followed it, that it would take him directly to the house of theman whom he wanted to see.
After walking about a mile, he came to the house. It was a smallfarm-house, in the woods. There were a great many large logs, lying eachside of the road near it, ready to be drawn to the mill.
Jonas went up towards the door, which was in the end of the house. As hedrew near to it, he saw a boy's head behind an enormous pile of wood. Hewent around it, and found that the boy was about as big as Jonashimself. He was rolling down a large stick of wood, and had an axe inhis hand, as if he was going to chop it.
"Does Mr. Woodman live here?" said Jonas.
"Yes," said the boy; "but he isn't at home."
"Where is he?" said Jonas.
"He is out in the lot, falling trees," said the boy.
"How far is it from here?" asked Jonas.
"O, about a good half mile."
"Which way?" said Jonas.
"Out yonder," said the boy; and he pointed back of the house, where arough sled-road led into the woods. "You can hear his axe."
Jonas listened, and he heard distinctly the sound of an axe in the woodsbehind; presently it ceased. Immediately after, there was a prolongedcrash, which echoed back from the mountains.
"There goes a tree," said the boy.
Jonas was sorry to have to leave Oliver so long, but he wished topersevere until he should find the man, as he knew that the farmer wasvery desirous of having the business done that day. So he told the boythat he believed he would go and see if he could find Mr. Woodman; andthen he set off in the direction which the boy had indicated.
This road was so sheltered by the woods, that the snow was not muchdrifted; and, besides, it had been kept open by the teams, which hadbeen employed in hauling out pine logs. When Jonas got in to the end ofthe road, he heard the strokes of the axe, at a short distance on theright.
He looked that way, and found that the man was standing at the foot of atall tree, of very large size; and he was cutting through the trunk ofit, about two feet from the top of the snow. He saw that it was nearlyoff, and so he thought he would wait a moment, where he was, and see itfall. He observed that Mr. Woodman occasionally looked up the stem ofthe tree, between the strokes of his axe, as if to see whether it wasbeginning to fall.
After a few strokes more, he stepped back from the foot of the tree toone side. Jonas wondered why he left his work before the tree fell. Helooked up to the top of it, and he perceived that it was moving. It wasbending over very slowly indeed. It moved, however, faster and faster,and presently began to come tearing down between the branches of theother trees, and, at length, descended with a mighty crash to theground. Jonas thought that it was a very fine spectacle indeed. Hewished that Oliver had been there to see it.
Jonas then went to Mr. Woodman, and transacted his businesssuccessfully, according to the farmer's directions. Then he turnedaround, and began to walk back, as fast as he could go.
"I am afraid," said he to himself, "that Oliver is almost out ofpatience waiting for me."