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Frank, the Young Naturalist by [pseud.] Harry Castlemon
page 43 of 212 (20%)
took the oars and pulled toward home.




CHAPTER VI.

The Regulators


One of the range of hills which extended around the western side of
the village was occupied by several families, known as the "Hillers."
They were ignorant, degraded people, living in miserable hovels, and
obtaining a precarious subsistence by hunting, fishing, and stealing.
With them the villagers rarely, if ever, had intercourse, and
respectable persons seldom crossed their thresholds. The principal man
among the Hillers was known as Bill Powell. He was a giant in strength
and stature, and used to boast that he could visit "any hen-roost in
the village every night in the week, and carry off a dozen chickens
each time, without being nabbed." He was very fond of liquor, too
indolent to work, and spent most of his time, when out of jail, on the
river, fishing, or roaming through the woods with his gun. He had one
son, whose name was Lee, and a smarter boy it was hard to find. He
possessed many good traits of character, but, as they had never been
developed, it was difficult to discover them. He had always lived in
the midst of evil influences, led by the example of a drunken, brutal
father, and surrounded by wicked companions, and it is no wonder that
his youthful aspirations were in the wrong direction.

Lee and his associates, as they were not obliged so attend school, and
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