Girl though she was, she felt again a
little glow of sympathy, guessing as she did his nature; she could
understand how he thrilled when he heard the voices of the forest
calling to him.
They reached the gate of the palisade and passed within. It was full
dusk now, the forest blurring together into a mighty black wall, and the
outlines of the houses becoming shadowy. The Ware family sat awhile that
evening by the hearth fire, and John Ware was full of satisfaction. A
worthy man, he had neither imagination nor primitive instincts and he
valued the wilderness only as a cheap place in which to make homes. He
spoke much of clearing the ground, of the great crops that would come,
and of the profit and delight afforded by regular work year after year
on the farm. Henry Ware sat in silence, listening to his father's
oracular tones, but his mother, glancing at him, had doubts to which she
gave no utterance.
The days passed and as the spring glided into summer they grew hotter.
The sun glowed upon the fields, and the earth parched with thirst. In
the forest the leaves were dry and they rustled when the wind blew upon
them.
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