From Farm to Fortune | Page 8

She was

trembling to such a degree that she could scarcely stand.
"Git some more water," was Abner Balberry's only reply. The thought
that his barn might be totally destroyed filled him with dread, for there
was no insurance on the structure--he being too miserly to pay the
premium demanded by the insurance company.
More water was procured by Mrs. Felton, and at last it was apparent
that the farmer was getting the best of the fire. He worked hard and did
not seem to mind the fact that his eyebrows were singed and his hands
slightly blistered.
"There! now I've got it!" he sighed at last.
"Are you sure?" asked the housekeeper in a faint voice.
"Yes, but I'm a-goin' to hunt around fer sparks. Git some more water."
Additional water was soon at hand, and Abner Balberry began a minute
search of the whole loft, on the lookout for stray sparks. A few were
found and extinguished, and then the excitement came to an end.
"How thankful I am that the barn didn't burn down," said the
housekeeper, as the farmer came below and began to bathe his face and
hands.
"It was hot work."
"Are you burnt much?"
"More'n I want to be. Jest wait till I catch Nat!"
"Do you think----" began the housekeeper.
"O' course I do!" snorted Abner Balberry. "Didn't I see him a-runnin'
away from the barn?"
"I never thought Nat would be wicked enough to set a barn on fire."

"He was mad because I wouldn't give him no supper. He's a young
rascal, he is!"
"But to burn a barn!"
"Thet boy has got to be taken in hand, Mrs. Felton. I've let him have his
own way too much. I'm goin' to lay down the law good an' hard after
this."
"Maybe he won't come back," suggested the housekeeper.
This thought startled the farmer and he lost no time in finishing his
washing.
"I'm goin' after him," he announced. "If he thinks to run away I'll put a
spoke in his wheel putty quick."
Taking another look around, to make certain that the fire was really out,
Abner Balberry brought out one of his horses and hitched the animal to
a buckboard, in the meantime sending the housekeeper back to the
house to get his hat and coat.
"Where do you suppose you'll find him?" asked Mrs. Felton.
"Somewhere along the road most likely."
"Maybe he'll hide on you."
"He had better not. If he does that, I'll call on the squire about him."
"Can you do that?"
"O' course I can. Didn't he try to burn down the barn? The squire can
make out a warrant for his arrest."
"It would be awful to have him arrested."
"Well, he brought it on himself," answered Abner Balberry, doggedly.
"He had no right to try to set the barn afire. Next thing you know, Mrs.

Felton, he'll be a-trying to burn us up in our beds."
"Oh, I don't think Nat would be as bad as that."
"You don't know thet boy as well as I do. He's sly an' stubborn, and
he'll do 'most anything when he's crossed. But I'll fix him! Jest you wait
an' see!"
"How far will you follow him?"
"As far as it's necessary. If he thinks he can git away from me he'll find
out, sooner or later, he is mistaken."
"You don't know when you'll be back?"
"No. It may be I'll have to wait in town till the squire opens his
office--that is, if I can't find Nat."
"But you are going to look for him yourself first?"
"Yes."
With this answer Abner Balberry drove off in the darkness. Mrs. Felton
watched him and heaved a long and deep sigh.
"Too bad!" she murmured. "If he catches Nat it will surely go hard with
that boy. Well, I didn't think he was bad enough to set fire to a barn!"
CHAPTER V
THE SALE OF A COW
Totally unconscious of what had taken place at the farm after his
departure, Nat, in company with his friend, Sam Price, proceeded on
his way to Brookville.
On the journey Nat told his friend of many things that had happened to
him and of his uncle's meanness.

"I don't wonder you want a change," said Sam. "I'd want a change
myself."
At last they came in sight of Brookville, and Nat drove the cow to the
yard of Jackson the butcher.
The butcher was a fat, good-natured man of middle age. But he was a
shrewd business man and first-class at driving a bargain.
"What do you want, boy?" he asked of Nat.
"Do you want to buy a cow, Mr. Jackson? Sam says you were out
looking for cows day before yesterday."
"I did want cows then, but I've