The Harvester | Page 3

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THE HARVESTER
BY GENE STRATTON-PORTER
AUTHOR OF A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST, FRECKLES, ETC.

THIS PORTION OF THE LIFE OF A MAN OF TO-DAY IS OFFERED IN THE HOPE THAT IN CLEANLINESS, POETIC TEMPERMENT, AND MENTAL FORCE, A LIKENESS WILL BE SEEN TO HENRY DAVID THOREAU
CHAPTER I.
Belshazzar's Decision II. The Effect of a Dream III. Harvesting the Forest IV. A Commission for the South Wind V. When the Harvester Made Good VI. To Labour and to Wait VII. The Quest of the Dream Girl VIII. Belshazzar's Record Point IX. The Harvester Goes Courting X. The Chime of the Blue Bells XI. Demonstrated Courtship XII. ``The Way of a Man with a Maid'' XIII. When the Dream Came True XIV. Snowy Wings XV. The Harvester Interprets Life XVI. Granny Moreland's Visit XVII. Love Invades Science XVIII. The Better Man XIX. A Vertical Spine XX. The Man in the Background XXI. The Coming of the Bluebird
CHARACTERS
DAVID LANGSTON, A Harvester of the Woods. RUTH JAMESON, A Girl of the City. GRANNY MORELAND, An Interested Neighbour. DR. CAREY, Chief Surgeon of the Onabasha Hospital. MRS. CAREY, Wife of the Doctor. DR. HARMON, Who Concludes to Leave the City. MOLLY BARNET, A Hospital Nurse with a Heart. HENRY JAMESON, A Trader Without a Heart. ALEXANDER HERRON, Who Made a Concession. MRS. HERRON, A Gentle Woman. THE KENNEDYS, Philadelphia Lawyers.

The Harvester
CHAPTER I
BELSHAZZAR'S DECISION
``Bel, come here!'' The Harvester sat in the hollow worn in the hewed log stoop by the feet of his father and mother and his own sturdier tread, and rested his head against the casing of the cabin door when he gave the command. The tip of the dog's nose touched the gravel between his paws as he crouched flat on earth, with beautiful eyes steadily watching the master, but he did not move a muscle.
``Bel, come here!''
Twinkles flashed in the eyes of the man when he repeated the order, while his voice grew more imperative as he stretched a lean, wiry hand toward the dog. The animal's eyes gleamed and his sensitive nose quivered, yet he lay quietly.
``Belshazzar, kommen Sie hier!''
The body of the dog arose on straightened legs and his muzzle dropped in the outstretched palm. A wind slightly perfumed with the odour of melting snow and unsheathing buds swept the lake beside them, and lifted a waving tangle of light hair on the brow of the man, while a level ray of the setting sun flashed across the water and illumined the graven, sensitive face, now alive with keen interest in the game being played.
``Bel, dost remember the day?'' inquired the Harvester.
The eager attitude and anxious eyes of the dog betrayed that he did not, but was waiting with every sense alert for a familiar word that would tell him what was expected.
``Surely you heard the killdeers crying in the night,'' prompted the man. ``I called your attention when the ecstasy of the first bluebird waked the dawn. All day you have seen the gold-yellow and blood-red osiers, the sap-wet maples and spring tracing announcements of her arrival on the sunny side of the levee.''
The dog found no clew, but he recognized tones he loved in the suave, easy voice, and his tail beat his sides in vigorous approval. The man nodded gravely.
``Ah, so! Then you realize this day to be the most important of all the coming year to me; this hour a solemn one that influences my whole after life. It is time for your annual decision on my fate for a twelve-month. Are you sure you are fully alive to the gravity of the situation, Bel?''
The dog felt himself safe in answering a rising inflection ending in his name uttered in that tone, and wagged eager assent.
``Well then,'' said the man, ``which shall it be? Do I leave home for the noise and grime of the city, open an office and enter the money-making scramble?''
Every word was strange to the dog, almost breathlessly waiting for a familiar syllable. The man gazed steadily into the animal's eyes. After a long pause he continued:
``Or do I remain at home to harvest the golden seal, mullein, and ginseng, not to mention an occasional hour with the black bass or tramps for partridge and cotton- tails?''
The dog recognized each word of that. Before the voice ceased, his sleek sides were quivering, his nostrils twitching, his tail lashing, and at the pause he leaped up and thrust his nose against the face of the man. The Harvester leaned back laughing