第49章 A DRIVE TO SARATOGA LAKE(2)

Wall, the man broke out a' laughin' and sez he, "That haint a barn, that is a tree.""A tree!" sez I, a sort o' cranin' my neck forward in deep amaze.

And what exclamation Josiah Allen made, I will not be coaxed into revealin'; no, it is better not.

But suffice it to say that after a long explanation my companion at last gin in that the man wuz a tellin' the truth, and it wuz the lower part of a tree-trunk, that growed once near the Yo Semity valley of California.Good land! good land!

Josiah drove on quick after the man explained it, he felt meachin', but I didn't notice his linement so much, I wuz so deep in thought, and a wonderin' about it; a wonderin' how the old tree felt with her feet a restin' here on strange soil - her withered, dry old feet a standin' here, as if jest ready to walk away restless like and feverish, a wantin' to get back by the rushin' river that used to bathe them feet in the spring overflow of the pure cold mountain water.It seemed to me she felt she was a alien, as if she missed her strong sturdy grand old body, her lofty head that used to peer up over the mountains, and as if some day she wuz a goin' to set off a walkin' back, a tryin' to find 'em.

I thought of how it had towered up, how the sun had kissed its branches, how the birds had sung and built their nests against her green heart, hovered in her great, outstretched arms.The birds of a century, the birds of a thousand years.How the storms had beat upon her; the first autumn rains of a thousand years, the first snow-flakes that had wavered down in a slantin'

line and touched the tips of her outstretched fingers, and then had drifted about her till her heart wuz almost frozen and she would clap her cold hands together to warm 'em, and wail out a dretful moanin' sound of desolation, and pain.

But the first warm rain drops of Spring would come, the sunshine warmed her, she swung out her grand arms in triumph agin, and joined the majestic psalm of victory and rejoicing with all her grand sisterhood of psalmists.The stars looked down on her, the sun lit her lofty forward, the suns and stars of a thousand years.Strange animals, that mebby we don't know anything about now, roamed about her feet, birds of a different plumage and song sung to her (mebby).

Strange faces of men and women looked up to her.What faces had looked up to her in sorrow and in joy? I'd gin a good deal to know.I'd have loved to see them strange faces touched with strange pains and hopes.Tribulations and joys of a thousand years ago.What sort of tribulations wuz they, and what sort of joys? Sunthin' human, sunthin' that we hold in common, no doubt.

The same pain that pained Eve as she walked down out of Eden, the same joy that Adam enjoyed while they and the garden wuz prosperus, wuz in their faces most probable whether their forwards wuz pinted or broad, their faces black, copper colored or white.

And the changes, the changes of a thousand years, all these the old tree had seen, and I respected her dry dusty old feet and wuz sorry for 'em.And I reveryed on the subject more'n half the way home, and couldn't help it.Anyway my revery lasted till jest before we got to the big gate of the Race Course.

And right there, right in front of them big ornamental doors, we see Miss G.Washington Flamm, with about a thousand other carriages and wagons and Tally ho's and etcetry, and etcetry.Josiah thinks there wuz a million teams, but I don't.I am mejum; there wuzn't probable over a thousand right there in the road.

Miss Flamm recognized us and asked us if we didn't want to go in.

Wall, Josiah wuz agreeable to the idee and said so.And then she said sunthin' to the man that tended to the gate, probably sunthin' in our praise, and handed him sunthin', it might have been a ten cent piece, for all I know.

But anyway he wuz dretful polite to us, and let us through.And my land! if it wuzn't a sight to behold! Of all the big roomy places I ever see all filled with vehicles of all shapes and sizes and folks on foot and big high platforms, all filled with men and wimmen and children! And Josiah sez to me, "I thought the hull dumb world wuz there outside in the road, and here there is ten times as many in here."And I sez, "Yes, Josiah, be careful and not lose me, for I feel like a needle in a hay mow."He looked down on me and sort a smiled.I s'pose it wuz because I compared myself to a needle, and he sez, "A cambric needle, or a darnin' needle?"And I sez, "I wouldn't laugh in such a time as this, Josiah Allen."Sez I, "Do jest look over there on the race course."And it wuz a thrillin' seen.It wuz a place big enough for all the horses of our land to run 'round in and from Phario's horses down to them of the present time.And beautiful broad smooth roads cut in the green velvet of the grass, and horses goin'

'round jest like lightnin', with little light buggys hitched to 'em, some like the quiver on sheet lightnin' (only different shape) and men a drivin' 'em.

And then there wuz a broad beautiful race course with little clusters of trees and bushes, every little while right in the road, and if you'll believe it, I don't s'pose you will, but it is the livin' truth, when them horses, goin' jest like a flash of light, with little boys all dressed in gay colors a ridin' 'em --when them horses came to them trees instid of goin' 'round 'em, or pushin' in between 'em, or goin' back agin, they jumped right over 'em.I don't spose this will be believed by lots of folks in Jonesville and Loontown, but it is the truth, for I see it with both my eyes.Josiah riz right up in the buggy and cheered jest as the rest of 'em did, entirely unbeknown to himself, so he said, to see it a goin' on.