cough, saw in it all the hand of an offended God destroying
a blasphemer, and shook their heads knowingly when
the end came.

So Rolf was left alone in life, with a common school
education, a thorough knowledge of the Bible and of
"Robinson Crusoe," a vague tradition of God everywhere,
and a deep distrust of those who should have been his
own people.

The day of the little funeral he left the village of Redding
to tramp over the unknown road to the unknown south
where his almost unknown Uncle Michael had a farm and,
possibly, a home for him.

Fifteen miles that day, a night's rest in a barn, twenty-
five miles the next day, and Rolf had found his future
home.

"Come in, lad," was the not unfriendly reception, for
his arrival was happily fallen on a brief spell of good
humour, and a strong, fifteen-year-old boy is a distinct
asset on a farm.



Chapter 3. Rolf Catches a Coon and Finds a Friend

Aunt Prue, sharp-eyed and red-nosed, was
actually shy at first, but all formality vanished