The great roof of the wilderness had
turned red and faded into yellow. Soon its rafters began to show
through, and then, in a day or two, they were all bare but for some
patches of evergreen. Great, golden drifts of foliage lay higher than
a man's head in the timber land about the clearing. We had our
best fun then, playing 'I spy' in the groves.
In that fragrant deep of leaves one might lie undiscovered a long
time. He could hear roaring like that of water at every move of the
finder, wallowing nearer and nearer possibly, in his search. Old
Fred came generally rooting his way to us in the deep drift with
unerring accuracy.
And shortly winter came out of the north and, of a night, after
rapping at the windows and howling in the chimney and roaring in
the big woods, took possession of the earth. That was a time when
hard cider flowed freely and recollection found a ready tongue
among the older folk, and the young enjoyed many diversions,
including measles and whooping cough.
Chapter 7
I had a lot of fun that first winter, but none that I can remember
more gratefully than our trip in the sledgehouse - a tight little
house fitted and fastened to a big sledge.
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