The Art Of Writing & Speaking The English Language / Word-Study and Composition & Rhetoric

, and the magnificent scenery so appealed to him that he had not the heart to hurry. How good it was to be away from the noise and dust of the city! Here he could breathe

ook he saw, and roll in the g

olin case under his arm. He was no longer dressed in his clerical garb, but was plain John Handyman in rough work-a-day clot

" the last man he had

in the worst way. Heard

ile further on. Ye can'

ss the road fr

ectory when I come to

se with shutters on the windows, and tall grass all

w opened and spread out before him. He was hungry, so the sandwiches and cold meat seemed the best he had ever tasted. There was a piece of pie, as well as cake, for dessert, and what more could a king desire? he asked himself. How delightful it was to lie there and rest in such a quiet place. He was free to come and go as he wished, and not shackled by any rules of conventional life. The whole country was his to wander at will. Why should he not do it? He had only himself to care for,

le who held such views, but now he realised how attractive they were, and worthy of more careful consideration. Life, after all, was not summed up in the books he had studied

house. Signs of neglect and decay were most apparent. The building had not been painted for years, and the shingles on the roof were i

. Only a small part of the land surrounding the rectory had been cultivated. The rest, which had been used for pasturage, was covered with small bushes. Several apple trees stood back of the house, but these had not been trimmed for years, and the bark and moss were thick upon their trunks. "My, how I would like

the floor. "That looks good to me," Douglas mused. "I shall have a soft bed to-night, anyway. It is getting dark, and I might as well stay here as anywhere. I wonder what the pe

tside the door, a herd of cattle was trooping past. They were much startled to see a man lying in the barn, and several of them had given vent to coarse bellows as they stood staring in upon him. Presently he heard a man's voice shouting to the cattle to "git along out of that. What's the matter with ye, any

ye doin' there

see for yourself?" Do

ow that this is

m here. It's so very priva

siness sleepin'

as wide awake as you are

and as I live jist across the road I have been ask

er. He had an honest face, and bright blue eyes, in whose depths lurked a merry

he rose slowly to his feet. "I am anxious for a little e

oin' to git it?"

our p

my p

you not? You want a man to help with

know who I am?" and Jak

. Do you want me? Th

w what wages ye want before I hire ye. I can't

time to try me out, and then you will know what I am worth. I'll be

Would ye like to try a back-hold with me? There isn't a man in the whole parish

port, and was not in proper condition. He knew that if it came to the matter of physical endurance he would have little chance agai

asked, as he stepped from the barn out upon t

his opportunity, at the same time being careful not to allow his opponent to make use of his bear-like crushing grip. This was what Jake was striving for, and he was much worried when he found that he could not carry out the plan which had always proved so effective in the past. He became puzzled, and so co

?" Douglas asked. "You

feet. "How in the world did ye do it? Ye're the first

rk," Douglas replied. "

th opened wide in amazement. "What c

used at Jake's

asked. "Perhaps you want some further

right shoulder. "Ye've got the cinch on me in that game all right, and I'd like to know how ye di

ow far shall we run? I guess we'll have big

graceful elm down by the shore. "Let's ru

cried. "One, two, t

them. They both strove for the advantage of the upper ground in drawing near the elm, with the result that they nearly collided with each other. With a whoop Jake took the lead in his dash around the tree, wit

he had plunged. Standing nearby was the cause of their mishap. He was a tall, lank youth of about seventeen, very thinly clad,

saw who it was who had caused the disaster,

to be layin' round here at night. Take that, ye goat!

get away, but Jake held him in a firm grip and was

dered, at the same time layin

He's Empty in name and empty in head, that's what he is

ded, "and don't you dare to touch him again. Take your hands o

esh in Jake's mind that reluctantly he re

wled, "but don't let me ever catch

" the lad protested, spe

to some mischie

I hav

ye been d

been doin', and I came he

's yer

ad pointed with his fi

know I wa

, ho, that's a good one! To think of Empty

n fell upon their ears, which caused J

med. "It's Susie, an' I fe