The Highway CXINTON SCOLLAT LIBRA? *UniveJty of Co!.. IRVINE^ A Knight of the Highway looks hg ifflr* 9ralfarii The Lutes of Morn (Out of Print) Lyrics of the Dawn $1.25 Footfarings 1-25 Odes and Elegies 1.25 Easter Song 1.00 Lyrics and Legends of Christmas- tide i.oo A Southern Flight 1.00 (With Frank Dempster Sherman) A. Boy s Book of Rhyme .75 Blank Verse Pastels 1.25 A Knight of the Highway 1.25 GEORGE WILLIAM BROWNING Publisher CLINTON, NEW YORK A KNIGHT THE HIGHWAY By CLINTON SCOLLARD 1908 : GEORGE WILLIAM BROWNING CLINTON, N. Y. T2. Copyright, 1901, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT Co. Copyright, 1908, by CLINTON SCOLLARD. To CHAELES HENRY SMYTH, Ph.D. This Romance Of "The Hills of Home." CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Ne er-Do- Well 7 II. By the Mohondaga 20 III. Off for the Hop-Fields 39 IV. At the Mertons 55 V. An Old Acquaintance 70 VI. The New Pole-Puller 88 VII. The Spring at the Wood-Edge 102 VIII. The Hop-Dance 115 IX. In the Orchard 132 X. A Midnight Blaze 143 XI. A Morning Stroll 158 XII. The Blue Creek Road 168 XIII. An Arrival 181 XIV. Good-By to the Hop-Fields 193 XV. Back to Hintonville 207 XVI. Commencement at Monroe College 217 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY CHAPTER I. THE NE ER-DO-WELL THE powerful locomotive which drew the long freight-train came to a sudden stop. Some thing in the nature of a spasm, so human was it, communicated itself from car to car, and each in turn ceased to move. The jar wakened Rossiter, out stretched upon the top of some boxes and bales, from a heavy sleep, and on opening his eyes and finding himself encompassed by a breathless tropical blackness he did not for an instant realize where he was. He put out his hand and encountered the boards of the car-roof just above his head. Then he recalled his whereabouts. He was streaming with perspiration, for the atmosphere of the confined space was stifling. All day the pitiless September sun had 8 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY blazed in a coppery heaven; all day the parched earth had given back to the sky the fumes of heat; and yet Eossiter had clung to his oven-like retreat, in the first place because with every revolution of the wheels he was carried nearer to his des tination, and in the second place because he could not easily descend from the train while it was in motion. Half a loaf of bread and a few dry cookies had served to quiet the gnawings of hunger, while two wizened lemons had in a measure allayed the pangs of thirst. But now he sought in vain for the last precious bit of fruit which he had intended to keep against this time of urgent need. The jolting of the car had evidently caused his treasure to roll from the spot where he had placed it with such care. Uttering an exclamation of disappointment, he dragged himself a few feet and placed his lips to a crack in the side of the car, through which he drank eagerly great draughts of the par tially cooled night air. As he was about to resume his former position he inhaled a heavy waft of engine smoke. The devil ! " he cried, with a sputter of disgust. This is more than I can stand ! THE NE ER-DO-WELL He seized his little bundle of clothes and worked his way over the bales and boxes to the door. For a time he feared that he was hopelessly a prisoner, as the obstinate barrier to his escape would not budge. The perspiration streamed from his forehead into his eyes, and his hair was as wet as though he had soused his head in water. He had taken stock of the fastenings when he had stowed himself away at Clevalo, but he was discovering that an easy entrance into a freight-car packed with merchandise that has space enough to shift slightly does not neces sarily mean an easy exit. At length, after several sharp creaks of remonstrance, the door gaped sufficiently to allow him to squeeze his body through. He cast a glance up and down the ad joining track and then leaped. As his feet crunched upon the cinders someone sprang from the next car to the top of the one he had just quitted. It was a brake- man. "You damn tramp!" he shouted, and raised a hand as though about to hurl a missile. Rossiter ran, dodging as he went, but 10 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY nothing save a harsh guffaw followed from the car-top. "Sold, Johnny!" bellowed the brake- man; "out I can tell ye if I d had a hunk of coal, ye d have got it blim in the back!" Just then, with a long series of jerks, the train started. An electric light be yond the tracks threw the gesticulating figure on the car-top into strong outline for a moment and the pose held Kossi- ter s attention, but the effect was quickly spoiled by the onward movement of the train. Kossiter now turned to survey his surroundings. The blinking electrics told him that he was in a town of considerable size. Above the rumbling cars several large buildings loomed blackly. Behind him the ground sloped sharply to a stream, which he could not see on account of a white vapor which hung over it. At his left was a bridge, and as he examined this, and the ugly frame structures which lined the street toward which it led, a sense of familiarity gave him a swift thrill of surprise. "The deuce!" he exclaimed. "I won der if it is?" He wheeled to the right and regarded THE NE ER-DO-WELL 11 a long freight-house and a tall pile capped by a huge sign, the letters upon which he vainly strove to distinguish. A puzzled expression crossed his face, and he waited impatiently for the caboose of the freight- train to pass. At length the tracks were clear. A few rods away, on one side of a small square, the lights of a hotel twinkled through the branches of a row of elm- trees. Directly opposite was a railway station, a short distance from which a freight-and-accommodation-train was pull ing out. "Illica, by Jove!" cried Bossiter. "Well, if this isn t curious!" and his mind went back a dozen years to the June day when he had last set foot in the quiet city on the banks of the Mohondaga. Then he was a thoughtless youth fresh from college, full of a youth s ideals and dreams, not without ambition, and now well, his present status was not one to be contemplated with pride, nor did the vista down which he looked in retrospect afford him many gleams of satisfaction. He was wont to tell himself at times that he had had hard luck, but when he faced the clear, cold truth he knew in his inner- 12 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY most soul that luck had played no part whatever in his descent of the ladder of respectability. Never more fully than at this moment, amid surroundings long ago familiar, did he realize what an utter wreck he had made of his life. But he put on the devil-may-care air he was at inter vals accustomed to assume and slouched across the tracks in the direction of the station. "What hour can it be?" he muttered. "Bather late, I judge, by the fact that there are so few people about." There was a man standing in the open station door-way whom Eossiter took, from his dress, to be either a ticket agent or conductor. He had his watch in his hand. "Will you be kind enough to tell me the time?" Bossiter asked. The railroad man opened his lips as though he were about to answer, but as he glanced at his questioner astonishment seemed to choke his utterance. He looked Bossiter up and down, and finally let his eyes rest upon the vagrant s countenance, covered with a ten days growth of beard, the forehead grimy and streaked with THE NE ER-DO-WELL 13 perspiration, the hair hanging in greasy elf-locks from beneath a torn cap. "Well, if you ain t a perfect bloomin beauty!" he exclaimed, with an amused chuckle. Eossiter s hand went up to his face as he moved on. He searched his pockets for what served him as a handkerchief, pulled it out, and mopped his forehead, cheeks and neck. Then he paused an instant and endeavored to smooth his hair a trifle, but without much success. The man s words had affected him more than such a speech would usually have done. He had re ceived too many kicks and cuffs and oaths to heed them much, as a rule, but somehow the rebuff which he had just met stung him like a sharp blow upon an open wound. Heretofore he had associated II- lica with nothing but pleasant things. Whenever he had visited it formerly from the small town less than a dozen miles distant where he had passed his college days, he had always been treated with very marked favor. To Illica the students frequently sojourned for their half-holi days. It was where they attended the theatre, had their dinners, and sometimes 14 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY joined in social functions. Among the young men of his time at Monroe College, as the adjoining institution was called, no one visited Illica more frequently than Rossiter. With plenty of money at his command, possessed of a bright manner and a ready wit, and being withal quite prominent as an athlete, he had once had a number of friends and many acquain tances in the staid but pleasant inland city. He supposed that he had buried shame; he had told himself that he had worn out regret; but now both rose, alert and ag gressive, to torment him. As he moved in the direction of the square, he passed one of the station windows and glanced in. A clock high upon the wall informed him that it was quarter-past eleven. "I must have a beer, if it takes my last nickel," he said, moistening his parched lips with his tongue. Presently he rounded the corner of the station, and stood in the full glare of the electric lights. There were a few men seated upon the hotel steps, and at the upper end of the open space a trolley-car was putting down a passenger, otherwise there was no indication of life. Rossiter THE NE ER-DO-WELL 15 plunged a hand into one of his trousers pockets and drew forth four coins, a five- cent piece and three pennies. He knew that it would be folly to attempt to enter the hotel, so he started along the north side of the square in search of a saloon. ,He did not have to go far. A gaily illu mined place, which went by the name of "The Keneseo Thirst Parlor," soon caught his eye. Two men, whom he had not noted in his first survey of the square, were lounging upon opposite sides of the door. "Is that yer las chaw o terbaccer ye ve got in yer face, Bill?" demanded one of the other as Bossiter approached. The expression was not new to him. He had heard it before among men of the class to which these loafers belonged, the class to whose level, or lower, he himself had sunk, but it now carried with it an unwonted reproach. It revealed to him with painful vividness his own position in the world, and he cursed the fate that had caused him to leave the freight-train. Illica was potent in rousing the unwelcome spectre of the past, in stirring memories that he had fancied dead or so somnolent 16 A KNIGHT or THE HIGHWAY that they would never waken to plague him, in kindling longings that he had for many a day resolutely banished. As Rossiter drew near, and it became evident that he was seeking the saloon, the two loungers stepped back to allow him to enter, scanning him with leering curiosity as he walked toward the bar. With one hand he tossed his little bundle of clothes upon the polished slab behind which, in trousers and gauze undershirt, a close-cropped, red-faced Irish-American was standing, and with the other cast down his last precious nickel. "A glass of beer, for heaven s sake!" said he. The saloon-keeper shot an amused glance at him, seized a beer-mug, turned a spigot, held the mug up, eyeing its con tents critically, blew off the foam, put it beneath the tap again, and then placed it before Rossiter with a flourish. "Still hotter n ell!" he remarked. Rossiter answered with a little nod of assent, and then gave himself over to the luxury of the beaded draught. No bottle of wine quaffed in his primrose days had ever afforded him quite the satisfaction he THE NE ER-DO-WELL 17 experienced from that plebeian beer. He set the mug down with a sigh. "Have another?" asked the saloon keeper. Rossiter smiled regretfully and pro duced his three remaining pennies, chink ing them in his hand. "Guess not," he answered. Oh, well, said the man behind the bar good-naturedly, "I see you re ruther down on yer luck. I ll stan treat. They s some crackers over there," he added, pointing to a nicked dish that stood upon a table on the opposite side of the room. Rossiter helped himself to a generous handful, and, returning, took up the brim ming mug that was awaiting him. "Here s looking at you," he said. "My best thanks." "Goin hop-pickin , I suppose?" said the saloon-keeper tossing off his "pony." "Hadn t thought of it," replied Rossi ter, who now recalled that it was the sea son of the hop-harvest, when there was a large influx of people into Illica on their way to the hop-fields, a dozen miles or so back among the hills. "Thought likely ye were. They s a big 18 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY crowd goin this year. They say the crop s heavy, and the price fer pickin good. An idea flashed into Bossiter s brain. I wonder if I could get a chance to pick?" he queried. "Gosh, yes!" said the saloon-keeper, "plenty o chance if ye keep sober." Rossiter made some additional inquiries in regard to the matter of hop-picking, then, as the saloon-keeper suggested that he guessed he d shut up, the vagrant took his bundle from the bar and sought the street. * I might try it, he mused as he strolled aimlessly in the direction of the station. "I ll see how it strikes me in the morn ing." Reaching the railway tracks, he halted for a moment in indecision. The station was closed, so it was useless to attempt to get an hour or two of rest upon one of the seats under the plea that he was waiting for a train. Turning to the left, he- walked parallel with the tracks for more than thrice a score of paces, crossed a de serted street, and descried directly in front of him a freight-house, along all THE NE ER-DO-WELL 19 sides of which a platform extended. On the side towards the railway some freight- cars were standing upon a switch. He gained the platform and began trying the doors of these cars. They were all secure ly fastened, however, so he slipped down between one of them and the platform, beneath which he groped his way till he found where some chips and sweepings had been thrown. Here he arranged his bundle for a pillow, stretched himself out, and was soon calmly slumbering. Night long near him darkened express-trains went rushing by or began to slacken speed with a hiss of steam and a grating of wheels, but they disturbed him not, and when the breezeless dawn began to break he was still sleeping as peacefully as though his bed were one of luxury. CHAPTER II. BY THE MOHONDAGA ROSSITEE S rest was broken the next morning by the rattle and creak of a hand-truck on the boards above his head. Through the open space between the ground and the floor of the freight-car just in front of him he could see the sunlight gleaming upon the rails, and so knew that it was broad day. Commonly, on awakening, he was in no haste to be stirring, but on this occasion he displayed an unusual activity. Almost as soon as he realized that the wonted round of busy men had begun, he sat up, shook the dirt from his bundle and from his clothes and crept from his shel ter. Crawling under the freight-car, so that no one about the freight-house should see him and suspect him of mischief, he stepped off briskly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The air was still fresh with the cool of the dawn, but the sun was blear and red through the haze that curtained the heavens, and there was every indication BY THE MOHONDAGA 21 of another sweltering day. On glancing along the street upon which the freight- house faced, Rossiter noted, not far dis tant, a large sign extending over the sidewalk. "STABLING" was the word which, years previous, had been traced upon it. As Rossiter drew near the sign he beheld a wide gate which gave en trance to an extensive yard in the rear of a second- or third-class hotel. Upon the yard a long shed opened and likewise a capacious barn. In the centre of the barn door-way a hostler was leisurely grooming a horse. Towards this man the vagrant advanced. "Can I get a job? "asked he, as he came within speaking distance. "I d be willing to work for a bit of breakfast." The hostler paused, currycomb in one hand, brush in the other. "Know anythin about a hoss?" he de manded, surveying the applicant with considerable doubt. "Yes," said Rossiter, "something." "Le s see." The vagabond dropped his bundle, and the man gave currycomb and brush to him. "You ll do," he said presently. "I giss ye kin earn yer brekfust all right enough." He moved away, and Eossiter heard him changing the bedding in the stalls. Then he climbed to the loft and began pitching down hay. After a little he descended, and soon appeared leading another horse. 1 i That 11 do f er the bay, he said < Try yer hand on this un." For an hour or more the new stableman continued his labors, when the hostler an nounced that it was time for "grub." After a refreshing wash at the barn pump Eossiter followed his companion into a small, bare room which was filled with the odor of cooking. It was a plain meal that the two men sat down to, but it was ex ceedingly palatable. Neither spoke while eating, and the maid who attended to their wants evidently considered herself decid edly above them, for she did not deign to address them with so much as a single word. When they had finished they went out together. "Say," said the hostler, as they halted in the centre of the stable yard, "how d ye like my job fer a couple o weeks? I want to go hop-pickin . " BY THE MOHONDAGA 23 "I think some of going myself," replied Eossiter. "Oh, yer do, eh? AVell, if ye don t con clude ter go, I d be glad to have ye come ere. Ye re a pritty tidy hand with a boss." * Thanks. AVliat s the job worth I "Five a week, with feed an lodgin ." "When would you want to know?" "Any time to-day ud do." "All right. I ll drop around to-night and tell you if I ll come. If you don t see me again, you ll have to find another chap," and Eossiter sought the street. "Here s luck!" he ejaculated. "May be things are going to take a turn at last." He straightened himself, and something of the reckless sullenness left his face. "I must find a quiet spot and think it out," he mused. He crossed the railway tracks, and struck into a narrow street which, he re called, formerly led to the base-ball grounds and the river. It was a squalid neighborhood in the old days, he remem bered, and it did not appear to have changed materially during the years that had elapsed since he had last viewed it. 24 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY Bagged children were rolling in the dirt by the roadside, slatternly women even at that hour nine o clock had not yet struck were gossiping from window to window, and two or three men as unkempt as Eos- siter himself were squirting tobacco-juice over the dilapidated board sidewalk. Both women and men eyed him furtively as he went by, and one of the former flung a coarse jibe after him. He found an open field where the fenced base-ball grounds had been, and beyond this, as in the past, stretched a level meadow, sweeping away beyond the river to the base of haze-wrapt hills. Quarter of a mile distant he noticed a group of elms upon the banks of the stream, and towards these he directed his steps. When he reached them he cast himself upon the sward in the shade and set his back against one of the massive boles. Behind him was the city, slowly beginning to steam with heat under the pitiless sun; before him was the languid river, low from drought, lazing between its irregular and freshet- washed banks. Far overhead in the lofty boughs was the faint twitter of bird-song. BY THE MOHONDAGA 25 This was what Rossiter loved. The city meant nothing to him but miserable fail ure, but the free air of the country carried with it a certain peace of spirit, and for the most part a large forgetfulness. Dur ing the three years of his wanderings the virus of vagabondage had so permeated his every fibre that he rarely longed for the existence he had once known. When he was candid with himself he admitted that it was an irreparable blot upon his manhood that he did not strive to rise from the slough into which his own weak ness had dragged him. At rare intervals, when thoughts of re-entering the struggle came to him, there was always the old weakness to combat, the realization that not twice but thrice he had played fast and loose with his chances in the world, and so he allowed himself to drift. There was nothing inherently bad in Rossiter s na ture; there was no dishonor to be laid at his door. If he had assumed something of the uncouth manners and familiarized himself with the low language of the men with whom he frequently associated, these were surface matters, things which, if oc casion demanded, would be sloughed as a 26 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY snake drops its skin. Weak though he was, and reckless though he had been when fortune was his, back of all was a fineness that those who came into any thing like intimate contact with him could but notice. The lack of a mother s love and guidance, and a mistaken generosity and a subsequent obtuse insistance on the part of his father, accounted for much in the wreck he had made of everything to which he had put his hand. Born with a keen artistic sense, endowed with an un usual amount of real literary talent, his likings had always been made light of at home, and when it came to the choice of a career he had that forced upon him for which he had a positive distaste. Then his father died; a considerable amount of money fell to him ; false friends flattered and cajoled; and very soon he was penniless. His elder brother helped him to a position, but though he did his best, his apparent indifference brought about his dismissal. His sister s husband now tried to give him a lift, but the recip ient soon discovered that he was a hin drance rather than an aid, and so one night, returning from his work di scour- BY THE MOHONDAGA 27 aged and embittered, and being re proached by his sister for his general uselessness, he went to his room, put a few traps together, slung them upon a stout cane over his shoulder, and walked out into the darkness, from that hour a vag abond, wandering whither fancy led, now working at this or that, now begging, suf fering sometimes, but not without a cer tain enjoyment in life, vastly happier than he had been when he felt himself depen dent on, and a reproach to, those who were his nearest of kin. Such was the story of this ne er-do-well, a story of weakness, of folly, of heedlessness, but not one of crime or of dishonor. Having settled himself to his satisfac tion under the lofty elm, Rossiter opened the bundle which he had cast by his side a dilapidated change of underwear, a pair of socks, a vest, and an outing shirt and extracted a briar-wood pipe of cheap make and a small piece of smoking-plug. From the tobacco he cut with miserly care enough to fill half the pipe-bowl, and hav ing lighted it leaned back with a sigh of comfort. It was the first indulgence of the kind he had allowed himself for several 28 days, and the fact that he was permitting himself to enjoy so epicurean a pleasure at this morning hour indicated that some thing of unusual moment was occupying his mind. After having blown, to his intense satis faction, two or three fragrant clouds into the warm September air, he took from his pocket a square envelope, from which he drew a letter. This he spread out before him upon one knee. It read in this wise : "DEAR PHILIP: I have heard from your former friend, Crossgrove, that you have again been seen in or near Kalamanti, and I am send ing this enclosed in a note to him in the hope of reaching you. For the sake of our dead father and mother, for your sake, and for the sake of us all, I want you to come back for another trial. Will you not? On the first of October the Evening Star passes into the hands of an acquaintance of mine, George Agnew, who in tends making some sweeping changes in the staff. Recalling some sketches and skits you once wrote which received much pleasant com ment, and the leanings you formerly had towards literature, which father (very unfortunately and injudiciously, I now believe) so insistently dis couraged, I spoke of you to Mr. Agnew, who has very generously offered to give you a chance on the paper. October first, as I said above, is the date when the change in man- BY THE MOHONDAGA 29 agement takes place, and if, by good fortune, you receive this letter, I beg that you will not allow this (perhaps last) opportunity to re trieve yourself to slip from you. I hope that you will believe me still "Your affectionate brother, "ARCHIBALD ROSSITER." "It s mighty good of Archie," com mented the wanderer, "a blamed sight too good! I don t deserve it. I d probably make a mess of it, just as I have of every thing else but this," and he glanced down at his worn and dusty shoes, and at his faded and weather- stained garb. "And yet, well, it s what I always used to think I d like, and here I am more than half way there." When his brother s missive had been handed to him two weeks previous he had been upon the point of turning south. In stead he set his face eastward, not with a definite idea of falling in with what his brother had proposed, but with that pos sibility in view. Now, after having had the past so vividly brought before him by his unforeseen tarry in Illica, after having experienced emotions that he had fancied belonged almost totally to a different en- 30 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY vironment, he was more strongly moved than ever thus to challenge fate. But the old weakness, the hesitancy, the dislike of responsibility, fostered by his roving life was not lightly to be overcome ; so he lay and debated. Against his un doubted desire to redeem himself, a desire which was gradually strengthening, rose the consciousness of former failure, and also the undeniable fascination his present existence had come to have for him. Half an hour slipped away, an hour, and it was mid-morning. The heat increased, and the reclining man grew drowsy. Vaguely, as in a dream, he marked two figures cross his angle of vision and follow the river bank to a point not many rods from where he was lying. He saw these persons begin to divest themselves of their clothes, commented to himself that they were going for a swim, and here his scarcely aroused curiosity ceased. He closed his eyes and presently lost con sciousness. Twenty minutes had elapsed when a scream rent the quiet air, a sharp, boyish cry of terror. At the second out cry, louder and shriller than the first, Eossiter sat up. A naked form was leap- BY THE MOHONDAGA 31 ing wildly about upon the river bank, with arms outflung, sending forth one terrified shriek after another. To Eossiter s ears the shouts now resolved themselves into, "Help! help!" The awakened man was on his feet in an instant. In such an emergency as this his habitual indecision did not show itself. Off went his cap, coat and shoes, and away he sprang over the sward towards the dis traught figure. He was naturally fleet of foot, and his muscles were hard from hun dreds of leagues of tramping. The youth, for such Kossiter saw the shouter to be, grew more frantic as he realized that aid was approaching, turning first towards the stream and then in the direction from which assistance was com ing. "Oh, quick! be quick!" he cried, but now his voice seemed to fail him, and he did little more than utter a series of in coherent sounds. Once within view of the river, Eossiter was not slow to grasp the situation. In mid-stream was a bather, who, by a spas modic action of one hand, was just con triving to keep his head above the surface. 32 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY He was swallowing great gulps of water with every movement, and was unques tionably on the verge of sinking. "Stick to it!" yelled Eossiter, without slackening speed, "I ll be with you in a minute. One spring took him down upon the caked mud below the overhanging sod, and a second carried him waist deep into the river. Then he struck out with vigor ous strokes. He approached the exhausted swimmer cautiously, knowing if he would save him he must not allow himself to be caught in his drowning grip. When just beyond the reach of his arms he paused. The poor fellow made a frantic effort to seize hold upon him, but Eossiter was watchful and easily eluded his grasp. It was like the last flicker of a dying flame. With a gasp and a gurgle the man gave over the struggle. Here was Eossiter s opportunity, and he was alert to improve it. As the sinking bather s head was dis appearing he gave a powerful forward plunge. Out went his hand, and his strong fingers were fastened in a mop of soaking hair. There was but a spark of conscious ness left in the body of the man when Eos- BY THE MOHONDAGA 33 siter jerked his head above water. He was well-nigh a dead weight, and his rescuer had no difficulty in whirling him about and gripping him beneath the arm pits. In this wise lie pushed him ashore. He began to revive a little as shallow water was reached, and was able, witli Rossiter s ami encircling his waist, to drag himself up to the grass of the bank, where he sank in a limp heap. Presently he began to vomit violently, whereat the boy who had been standing by, mouth agape and speechless, commenced to moan and whimper. "It s the best thing that could happen," said Rossiter reassuringly. "He ll come around all right shortly." Indeed, it was not long before the res cued man sat up, a look of disgust and loathing upon his features. "Mother of Moses!" he exclaimed, "but I shouldn t want Mohondaga water for a steady diet ! He caught Rossiter s eye and smiled. "You were just in time," he said. "Jim, there, ain t worth shucks. He can t swim a stroke. Another minute an I d a croaked." 34 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY 1 i It was rather a close shave, observed Bossiter. "Gee, yes!" This was said with con siderable emphasis, and a suspicion of color began to creep into the young man s pallid cheeks. He was perhaps twenty-six or -seven years of age, and as Eossiter now glanced from his face to that of the boy, who had edged close to him, he saw at once from the strong resemblance between them that they must be brothers, the younger being hardly more than sixteen. They were not unattractive faces, either of them, and in the elder s Eossiter read lines of deter mination and self-reliance that made him for the instant envious. Both were slimly fashioned, with a slight stoop to the shoul ders, and both had the lifeless complexions of those who spend little time in the open air. They had clear eyes of steel-blue, and the hair of the elder curled slightly. He had, moreover, an insignificant brown mustache. "Come out in the sun," said Eossiter to the one he had rescued; "it ll brace you up." He gave the young man a helping hand, BY THE MOHONDAGA 35 and steadied him after he had got upon his feet. "Gripe, but I m weak!" the whiiom swimmer said. "You wouldn t think it ud take it out of a fellow so," and he sat down near where he had laid his clothes. Rossiter now began to realize the con dition of his own garments. "I believe I ll have to wring my things out," he remarked, "and let them dry in the sun," and he proceeded forthwith to put this scheme into execution. For a space little was said, the two brothers absently watching the vagrant as he spread his worn articles of apparel on the grass. Finally the elder spoke up quickly. "How d you happen along just as you did?" he inquired. "Oh, I was having a nap over yonder," answered Eossiter, waving his hand in the direction of the elm under which he had been reclining, "ana I heard your brother shout." "Having a nap, eh?" this with consider able surprise, as though the speaker could not understand the philosophy of a mid- morning indulgence of that character. 36 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY "Yes, but " with a swift shift of the topic of conversation "you haven t told me what was the trouble with you out there," and Rossiter nodded towards the water. "Oh, a cramp caught me. I must have been too warm when I went in. It doubled me all up on one side, and I called to Jim, who was paddlin about in shallow water. He ran out onto the bank scart stiff, and began yellin like mad. It s darn lucky he did, I guess." At this the younger brother laughed foolishly. "Say," continued the elder, "you ve done me a blamed good turn "Don t mention it," said Rossiter, in terrupting him. "But, by gosh, I m goin to!" cried the young man. "What do you take me for? Now, as I say, you ve done me a good turn, and I d like to do you one, if you ll let me." He looked at Rossiter appealingly. "Well," said the latter. "You re in hard luck, ain t you? No offence meant." Rossiter lowered his eyes. BY THE MOHONDAGA 37 Suppose I am?" said he. "Got any thin at all to do?" "I had an offer this morning." "Somethin that you care about?" "I can t say that it is." "Come along with us, then!" this with a sudden enthusiastic burst of confidence. "My mother nd sister nd Jim nd me s goin hop-pickin . We ve just come up this mornin from Fallsburg down the river where we live, and are goin into the country this afternoon. Fine place, bully grub , nd all that! A chum o mine was to have been along, but he backed out at the last minute, so it ll be all o. k., won t it, Jim?" "Sure!" exclaimed the boy. Eossiter was more than surprised at this spontaneous proposal. He was not accustomed to gratitude, and that he should inspire anyone with enough confi dence to suggest such an arrangement struck him will something like amazement. But the more he meditated upon the sug gestion the more tempting it was to him. Three weeks and a half had yet to elapse before the first of October. If he should decide to return and accept the offer made 38 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY by his brother s acquaintance, here was an opening which would enable him to go back with a little money in his pocket, doubtless more than he could earn as a hostler. "It s mighty good of you to mention such a thing," said he. "Are you sure you really mean it!" "Mean it!" echoed the young man, "well, I guess!" "Then I m with you!" exclaimed Ros- siter, surprised the instant he had spoken at his own earnestness and decision. "My name s Joe Becraft," said the young man, "and this is my brother Jim." "Mine is Philip Rossiter, Phil, if you like," said the vagabond, and then he was suddenly conscious that he had given his full name for the first time in three years. Ross he had been accustomed to call him self when there was any question of iden tity. "Is it a good omen," he asked himself, "or is it but the beginning of another failure?" CHAPTER III. OFF FOB THE HOP-FIELDS YOU see it s like this," Joe Becraft was saying as the three trudged slowly in the blazing sun across the meadow towards the city. "The mill where I ve been workin these six years, an where Jim s just startin in, has shut down a month for repairs, so we re gettin a holiday. Ma always goes pickin hops, an Mame, she s my sister, but Jim an me, we ain t so lucky every year. "You like it then?" inquired Eossiter. "You d better believe I do. So d you if you were shut up in a mill all the rest of the time." "Haven t you a good position?" "Oh, yes, I m not kickin . I m under- overseer in the cardin -room. I ll get to be overseer, perhaps, one of these days, -an then " He broke off. There was a happy look in his eyes and he gave a little laugh, while Jim chuckled audibly. "What are you snickerin at, you young jay?" cried his brother, making a pretence 4:0 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY of being provoked, and vainly trying to cuff the offender. The more Kossiter talked with the elder Becraft the more did he grow to respect if not to admire him, he was so wholly natural, so independent, so self-poised, and yet so entirely without conceit. He was uneducated, save in a rudimentary way, having been the mainstay of the family for eight years, yet he kept himself informed on the topics of the day, and had his opinions on public affairs, which were more free from bias than the views held by most of those in his station in life. Crude he was, but earnest, frank, and warm-hearted, and Kossiter was shamed when he contrasted his own weakness and lack of purpose with this young fellow s unassuming strength. As the three reached the square beyond the railway tracks, Eossiter noticed that Joe Becraft was beginning to lag and show signs of exhaustion. " You d better have a drink of whiskey to brace you up," he said. "A milk shake will do the business," Becraft replied. "It s too hot for whis key. Maybe you d like a nip, though," he OFF FOB THE HOP-FIELDS 41 added, with a peculiar sidelong glance, which the vagrant caught. It was as though the younger man was surmising what the elder s habits might be. "Oh, no," Rossiter said, not betraying the fact that he noticed Becraft s scrutiny, "I m not much on whiskey myself. I like a little beer now and again, however." "Yes, beer ain t bad, but the shake is what I need now. I feel a bit empty." They stopped at a drug store upon the corner above the saloon where Eossiter had refreshed himself the previous night. A prescription clerk who was bending ob sequiously over a glass case listening to the wants of two ladies, gave a frowning start as he descried the bedraggled trio, and half opened his lips as though to bid them be gone. He appeared to take a second thought, however, and unrebuffed the three approached the sign-embellished soda-fountain, behind which a spruce youth stood grinning. "We ve had an outside wettin ," an nounced Joe Becraft to the dispenser of drinks, nodding at Eossiter, "an we d like to balance off matters by havin something inside. What s yours! and yours, Jim?" 42 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY "We d better follow your brother s ex ample, hadn t we?" asked Eossiter, ap pealing to the younger Becraft. "Yes, a shake s all right," replied Jim. The youth of the soda fountain, with a series of flourishes, deeming he had those before him whom he could impress with his dexterity, proceeded to mix the desired beverage, which all three drank through gelatinous-looking tubes in lieu of straws. "That s pleasanter an the drink I had down yonder, remarked Joe Becraft as he finished, a merry glint leaping into his eyes. Presently they stood again upon the sidewalk together. "My mother s waitin at the Mansion Hotel," said the elder Becraft. "That s where the hop-wagon s to come for us about two o clock. Now before we go up, for we want you to come along with us, I ve got something to propose. You ll take it all right, won t you?" "Perhaps I know what it is," answered Kossiter, for several times he had seen Becraft furtively regarding his hair and beard. "Do you?" "I can guess." OFF FOR THE HOP-FIELDS 43 "Well, if that s the case, you ain t a-goin to mind, are you? You can pay me back, you know." "You ll trust me to pay you back, then?" "Trust you to? Why, of course I will. You ll pay me if you ve got anything to pay with, an you ll have it all right after a little." "I don t believe there are many who would take your view of it. "P raps not, for, to tell the truth, you ain t what the boys would call a swell. But a shave an a hair-cut 11 make a sight of difference. I know of a place close by where we ll go. A chap from our town keeps it." As they turned from the main thorough fare, which was called Keneseo Street, a puff of warm wind blew a cloud of dust in their faces. "Thunder!" ejaculated Joe Becraft, "I ve swallowed enough nasty stuff for one day. Do you know, he added, for a fine city, this town has spells o bein pretty dirty, though it s a blame sight better n it used to be." Rossiter was not posted in the matter 44 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY of municipal street-cleaning, so he did not reply to these observations. They had not walked more than a block when they saw a barber s striped pole, and entered a little shop where a dapper young man, with elaborately brushed hair and a not over- clean white duck jacket, was making change for a customer whom he had been shaving. " Hullo, Joe!" said this individual, "what are you up to?" "Oh, the mill s shut down for a few weeks, an I m off hop-pickin with the family," answered Becraft. "Friend of mine, here," he continued, indicating Ros- siter, l i wants you to fix him up. The barber s attention was for the first time directed to the companion of the Be craft brothers. "Say he began. "No jollyin , now," interrupted Joe. "He took an oath a while ago that he wouldn t get a shave or a hair-cut till you had a decent railway station in this pent- up town of yours, but he s backed out." The barber exploded in a guffaw. "Lucky for him he has," he answered, "unless he means to hire out to Barnum OFF FOB THE HOP- FIELDS 45 an Bailey or Buffalo Bill as the wild man of Borneo." "While Rossiter s locks were being trimmed and his beard removed, Joe Be- craft and his tonsorial friend kept their tongues continually wagging, Joe also im proving the opportunity to tidy himself somewhat. The conversation between the two had chiefly to do with the town of their nativity and a certain portion of its in habitants, and Rossiter listened with not a little inward amusement, for each young man had, in his way, a sense of broad humor that flashed out in their comments upon people. Finally the barber s task was accomplished, and he removed the soiled apron from Rossiter s neck with a flourish and a, "There you are, sir!" "Gosh!" Joe Becraft exclaimed, "I wouldn t believe you were the same fel low." The change in the vagabond s appear ance was indeed great. His rather large, clear-cut features showed to an advantage without beard or mustache, and though the lines of his chin indicated a lack of de cision, one studying his face for the first 46 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY time would have said that its possessor was endowed with a strong individuality. His deep brown eyes were laughing and grave by turns. The discontent and bit terness which showed in the expression of his mouth were not to be seen habitually. Dissipation had left no mark upon his countenance, for although at times Bos- siter had imbibed freely, he was very far from being a drunkard ; indeed, he had no special taste for liquor, and had fre quently resorted to it not so much because he craved it as because it took him out of himself. Becraft produced some silver and paid his townsfellow. "It s my treat to-day," he explained. They now retraced their steps to Ken- eseo Street, and followed this thorough fare until they came to the elaborate lift- bridge spanning the Ontario Canal. From time to time Becraft regarded his new friend speculatively. "Say," he at length broke out, as the three paused and leaned over the railing, idly scanning a steam-packet that was moored below, "you ve been used to a different sort of life, haven t you?" OFF FOR THE HOP-FIELDS 47 Eossiter did not reply at once. "Yes," lie said finally. "Had an education, an all that?" "Yes." "I thought so. You don t talk like, well, like most of the people I know." "I m not aware of any difference." "Oh, yes you are. That is, you would be if you d stop to think about it." "I got through thinking some time ago, at least I so imagined until lately." "You know, an educaton," said Becraft, not heeding Eossiter s last remark, "is something I m always wishin I had. It s a great thing." "I ve certainly not done very much with mine," replied the wanderer. "How d it happen?" "It s hard to say. I don t doubt an other you, for instance would have profited by it, but as for me He ended with an expressive shrug of his shoulders. They continued to look at the steam- packet for several minutes longer, and then resumed their walk towards the Man sion Hotel. "Don t b lieve we d better say anythin about my swimmin experience to Ma, 48 A KNIGHT OF THE HIGHWAY Jim," observed Joe Becraft, as they left the main street for the narrower thor oughfare where the hotel they sought was situated. "Like as not she d have a blue fit." "Bet she would," replied Jim. "She s pretty nervous about my health sometimes," Joe explained. "You see, father died o consumption." "Why should you ever say anything to her about it?" inquired Eossiter. "Cer tainly, so far as I am aware, there s not the slightest reason for your doing so." "Oh, but I want her to know some day what you did for me. I ll tell her about it up in the hop-yard. She won t take on so there. I mean, she won t give it to me quite so strong about bein careless,, an all that." "Have it as you will," said Eossiter, "but I should be rather better pleased if you made no mention of it whatever. "I m goin to introduce you," said Joe, "as a friend who s done me a good turn. That ll explain our fetchin you along." Eossiter now descried in the distance the staring letters MANSION HOTEL above a large and rambling wooden build- OFF FOR THE HOP- FIELDS 49 ing, so he intimated that before lie met the mother and sister of his companions he would like to make a slight change in his apparel. "I ve got another shirt in here," he said, displaying his bundle, "that looks more presentable than the one I m wear ing." "Ma ain t over particular," said Joe, but as Bossiter insisted, they turned up at the side of the hotel and sought the stables, where the vagrant made the de sired alteration. He could but smile to himself as he was effecting this, the ex perience was so novel to him. It was many a long day since he had given much heed to what anyone thought of him. The hotel stood upon a corner, and on two sides of it there was a wide veranda, at one end of which mother and daughter were sitting. The girl was a plain, shy miss of seventeen, while the mother proved to be a woman of ample propor tions, with a worn but kindly face which showed that her path through life had not been among the roses. Her manner towards Eossiter was at first marked by a decided reserve, but when her son ex-