In the Days of Poor Richard

Irving Bacheller

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• Publié par: esto
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 31
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg eBook, In the Days of Poor Richard, by Irving Bacheller This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: In the Days of Poor Richard Author: Irving Bacheller Release Date: April 12, 2005 [eBook #15608] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE DAYS OF POOR RICHARD*** E-text prepared by Al Haines [Frontispiece: A young John Irons and Margaret Hare in the forest.] IN THE DAYS OF POOR RICHARD By IRVING BACHELLER Author of The Light in The Clearing, A Man for the Ages, Etc. ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN WOLCOTT ADAMS INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS 1922 Printed in the United States of America. PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO BOOK MANUFACTURERS BROOKLYN, N. Y. TO MY FRIEND ALBERT J. BEVERIDGE Discerning Student and Interpreter of the Spirit of the Prophets, the Struggle of the Heroes and the Wisdom of the Founders of Democracy, I Dedicate This Volume. FOREWORD Much of the color of the love-tale of Jack and Margaret, which is a part of the greater love-story of man and liberty, is derived from old letters, diaries, and newspaper clippings in the possession of a well-known American family. CONTENTS CHAPTER I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII BOOK ONE The Horse Valley Adventure Sowing the Dragon's Teeth The Journey to Philadelphia The Crossing Jack Sees London and the Great Philosopher The Lovers The Dawn An Appointment and a Challenge The Encounter The Lady of the Hidden Face The Departure The Friend and the Girl He Left Behind Him BOOK TWO The Ferment Adventures in the Service of the Commander-in-Chief In Boston Jail Jack and Solomon Meet the Great Ally With the Army and in the Bush How Solomon Shifted the Skeer The V of a Woman Sobbing oice The First Fourth of July The Ambush The Binkussing of Colonel Burley The Greatest Trait of a Great Commander XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII BOOK THREE XXIV In France with Franklin XXV The Pageant XXVI In Which Appears the Horse of Destiny and the Judas of Washington's Army XXVII Which Contains the Adventures of Solomon in the Timber Sack and on the "Hand-made River" XXVIII In Which Arnold and Henry Thornhill Arrive in the Highlands XXIX Love and Treason XXX "Who Is She that Looketh Forth as the Morning, Fair as the Moon, Clear as the Sun, and Terrible as an Army with Banners?" XXXI The Lovers and Solomon's Last Fight List of Illustrations A young John Irons and Margaret Hare in the forest "The soldiers are slaying people," a man shouted. Jack Irons and Solomon Binkus with General George Washington. Solomon Binkus with Whig Scott on his shoulder. Ben Franklin Ben Franklin, surrounded by his grandchildren. In the Days of Poor Richard BOOK ONE CHAPTER I THE HORSE VALLEY ADVENTURE "The first time I saw the boy, Jack Irons, he was about nine years old. I was in Sir William Johnson's camp of magnificent Mohawk warriors at Albany. Jack was so active and successful in the games, between the red boys and the white, that the Indians called him 'Boiling Water.' His laugh and tireless spirit reminded me of a mountain brook. There was no lad, near his age, who could run so fast, or jump so far, or shoot so well with the bow or the rifle. I carried him on my back to his home, he urging me on as if I had been a battle horse and when we were come to the house, he ran about doing his chores. I helped him, and, our work accomplished, we went down to the river for a swim, and to my surprise, I found him a well taught fish. We became friends and always when I have thought of him, the words Happy Face have come to me. It was, I think, a better nickname than 'Boiling Water,' although there was much propriety in the latter. I knew that his energy given to labor would accomplish much and when I left him, I repeated the words which my father had often quoted in my hearing: "'Seest thou a man diligent in his calling? He shall stand before kings.'" This glimpse of John Irons, Jr.--familiarly known as Jack Irons--is from a letter of Benjamin Franklin to his wife. Nothing further is recorded of his boyhood until, about eight years later, what was known as the "Horse Valley Adventure" occurred. A full account of it follows with due regard for background and color: "It was the season o' the great moon," said old Solomon Binkus, scout and interpreter, as he leaned over the camp-fire and flicked a coal out of the ashes with his forefinger and twiddled it up to his pipe bowl. In the army he was known as "old Solomon Binkus," not by reason of his age, for he was only about thirty-eight, but as a mark of deference. Those who followed him in the bush had a faith in his wisdom that was childlike. "I had had my feet in a pair o' sieves walkin' the white sea a fortnight," he went on. "The dry water were six foot on the level, er mebbe more, an' some o' the waves up to the treetops, an' nobody with me but this 'ere ol' Marier Jane [his rifle] the hull trip to the Swegache country. Gol' ding my pictur'! It seemed as if the wind were a-tryin' fer to rub it off the slate. It were a pesky wind that kep' a-cuffin' me an' whistlin' in the briers on my face an' crackin' my coat-tails. I were lonesome--lonesomer'n a he-bear--an' the cold grabbin' holt o' all ends o' me so as I had to stop an' argue 'bout whar my bound'ry-lines was located like I were York State. Cat's blood an' gunpowder! I had to kick an' scratch to keep my nose an' toes from gittin'--brittle." At this point, Solomon Binkus paused to give his words a chance "to sink in." The silence which followed was broken only by the crack of burning faggots and the sound of the night wind in the tall pines above the gorge. Before Mr. Binkus resumes his narrative, which, one might know by the tilt of his head and the look of his wide open, right eye, would soon happen, the historian seizes the opportunity of finishing his introduction. He had been the best scout in the army of Sir Jeffrey Amherst. As a small boy he