"Why," replied Corry, "all he does is to cut down two saplings, and make a kind of sled of "em. It won"t last long, but it"ll do to haul deer home. I"ll show you one to-morrow."
Port would have stood and looked at the deer longer if the weather out there had been warmer, but he half made up his mind to be a hunter while he was feeling of that buck"s antlers. There was something magnetic about them that sent a hunting-fever all over him.
At last the pleasant gathering at the minister"s house began to break up. Some sleigh-loads of those who had far to go had already set out for their homes, and it was well understood that not even the village people and near neighbors would stay later than ten o"clock. Very likely Elder Evans and his family would be tired enough to be pleased at once more having their home to themselves.
There came at the end a trifle of a surprise to Susie Hudson. The country-boys grew bolder as breaking-up time drew near; and she was compelled to inform no less than three of them in succession, when they offered her a ride home in their own cutters, that she was already supplied with company.
She did not happen to see Vosh Stebbins"s triumphant grin at one of these young men when he was turning away to hunt for another girl, but she better understood why her thoughtful young neighbor had spoken to her beforehand.
She learned yet one thing more before she arrived at her uncle"s house.
That was, that there were two roads to it, and the one selected by Vosh for the return drive was several times longer than that by which Deacon Farnham had driven his big sleigh. The snowy track was everywhere in fine condition; the sorrel colt was in the best of spirits; the bells rang out clearly in a ceaseless jingle as the gay little turnout dashed along: it was altogether a capital winding-up for an evening of genuine "winter fun" in the country.
There was a great deal of merry talk in the larger sleigh all the way home. The older people, Mrs. Stebbins included, were in a good state of mind over the success of the party, and Pen had something to say about everybody she had seen.
"Corry," said Port as he nestled down among the buffalo-robes, "is there any thing up this way that pays better than a donation?"
"I don"t know. Tell you what, though: they say we"re to have a big spelling-match in about two weeks."
"What"s that?"
"Why, it"s this way: the Benton school-district takes in all the young folks around here. The Cobbleville school-district joins ours, only it"s bigger, and there"s more of "em. We"re to spell against "em. It"s tip-top fun; but I"m awfully afraid they"ll spell us down. They did last year, and the year before."
"Can Susie and I go?"
"Of course you can. We"ve a right to count in anybody that"s living in our district."
"I"m in, then. I live here."
"Will Susie come? She ought to be a good speller. The day isn"t set yet.
They were talking it over to-night. We"ll have to go to Cobbleville: they"ve got the biggest meeting-house."
"Meeting-house? What for?"
"Why, to hold the match in. It"ll be jam full, too, galleries and all.
Everybody comes out to a spelling-match. You"ll see."
Port had no end of questions to ask; but he felt that he was becoming a country-boy very fast, and that he already had a strong interest in upholding the honor of the Benton school-district.
"Susie?" he said. "Why, of course she"ll go. She can spell any thing."
CHAPTER VII.
THE WORD-BATTLE AT COBBLEVILLE.
Penelope was in bed and asleep when Susie returned from the donation. So long a road home as Vosh Stebbins had selected, had required time to travel over it; and Mrs. Farnham had vetoed Pen"s proposal to sit up.
When they all reached the breakfast-table in the morning, there was a great deal to talk about, but it was not long before the spelling-match came up.
"Oh, yes! Susie," said Pen, "I was going to tell you all about it. You know how to spell."
"They say we can be counted in among the Benton spellers," began Port; but there was a very serious look on Susie"s face as she said to him,--
"I promised to go; but then, to think of being spelled down!"
"Why, Susie!" exclaimed Pen, "where did you hear of it?"
"Wasn"t she at the donation?" asked Corry. "Didn"t she ride home with Vosh Stebbins? Guess she"s heard as much as anybody."
That was not a bad guess; but it soon appeared that Susie was as much in earnest over the results of the match as if she were a regular Benton-valley settler, instead of a mere visitor.
There was plenty of enthusiasm warming up, but Deacon Farnham seemed inclined to throw cold water on their hope of victory. He reminded them of the disastrous manner in which their district champions had already been defeated twice in succession.
"They"ve had a pretty good teacher, too, all winter," he said.
"So"ve we," said Corry; "and some of us have been putting in on our spelling more"n any thing else."
"That"s good. Maybe they have too. I shouldn"t wonder if Vosh was the best man you"ve got."
"Perhaps he is, and perhaps he isn"t. Anyhow, we"re going to have fair play this time. Their teacher isn"t going to put out the words. There"ll be a committee."
"That"s better; but I"m afraid there won"t be any prize brought back to this valley."
"It"s a splendid prize!" exclaimed Pen,--"a great big dixinary."
"A dictionary, eh?"
"Yes," said Port; "and all the words spelled are to be given out from it."
"Any kind of words?"
"Not exactly. They must be just such words as people use, but they can be as long as they can find in the book."
"That won"t hurt one side more"n it will the other," said Mrs. Farnham.
"Besides," said Pen, "more of us had to sit down on short words than long ones last year."
"Sit down?" asked Port.
"When they missed. You"ll see when you get there," replied Corry. "It"s awful to sit down on a mistake, with a whole meeting-house full of people looking at you and laughing."
"I should say it was."
There were four pairs of eyes in that one house, right away after breakfast, busy over the long rows of words in some spelling-books, and wondering if there were any there they had forgotten.
"I knew "em all once," said Pen; "but they always look different when you"re told "em from the pulpit."