Then I took to the road to seewhat I could make out
of tracks. Well, Itrailed Abe up the road to the windfall.
He did not vouchsafe anyexplanation, and Lucinda
thought she had better not question him. It had been used to store hay, ofwhich only
a lower layer was left. Think how distressed I was that night tillyou found Abe the
first time he ran off. She wore shoes, also, whichfurther removed her in garb from
her companions. Playthings were scattered before thehearth.
It was utterly impossible for her to keep track
ofthem.
When dawn came a blinding blizzard was raging. They
scarcely took up four feet of the cabin. I went down the road a mile, then back up,
clear to the endof the open.
The winter passed swiftly, giving way toan early
spring and a warm summer.
Abe, you tell me, ordered Lucinda,
sternly.
Gosh, I hope he comes on the Fourth of
July.
She had fallen down in the dust,right on the
wheel-tracks of the second wagon.
Those grey demons had carried the children away! He
unhitched the horses and turnedthem loose to graze. The ragged, sun-browned urchins
were at once the despair and the joy ofLucindas full days. Therewas neither wagon
nor camp in sight.
Im much obliged, Holbert, said Logan,
gratefully.
But it wasnt a running shot, and your mother had
crippledhim. Playthings were scattered before thehearth. Here, she replied, almost
under his feet.
He expected another word from her to prepare
him.
When Lucinda appeared he said:Where you been? The
boys, except Abe, treated the work as play.
She gave this one a powerfulstab which caused him
to let out a mad howl. But Abe was not strongenough to close the gate.
Im glad to get back, Lucinda announced as if
telling herself somethingnew and exciting.
Logan saddled his horse at dawn and did not return
until night.
Boys, you carry fodder while I milk, said Lucinda,
taking the buckets.
Anyway, Ill name himAbraham Lincoln Huett. Lucinda
persuaded Logan to wait untilfall for the trip to town.
Well, I dont wish hewas a girl, but I wish we had a
girl. We got to expect rustlin inthis wild country. Then Logan was eager to make his
fall trip toFlagg. He never forgot any words his father usedpertaining to guns,
animals, and the forest. Lucinda spent uneasy, anxious hours until Logan returned,
some time afterdark. It was all Grant could do to carry some of the largest
potatoes. Again the purple asters bloomed along the pathto the brook.