HARPER'S
NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
No. XXIV.—MAY, 1852.—Vol. IV.
RODOLPHUS.—A FRANCONIA STORY.
BY JACOB ABBOTT.
CHAPTER III.
I. ANTONIO.
The person who came in so suddenly to helpthe boys extinguish the fire under the corn-barn,on the night of the robbery, was Antonio,or Beechnut, as the boys more commonly calledhim. In order to explain how he came to bethere, we must go back a little in our narrative,and change the scene of it to Mrs. Henry's houseat Franconia, where Antonio lived.
One morning about a week before the robbery,Phonny, Mrs. Henry's son, and his cousin Malleville,who was at that time making a visit at hismother's, were out upon the back platform atplay, when they saw Antonio walking towardthe barn.
"Children," said Antonio, "we are going intothe field to get a great stone out of the ground.You may go with us if you like."
"Well;" said Phonny, "come, Malleville, letus go."
So the children followed Antonio to the barn.There was a man there, one of Mrs. Henry'sworkmen, called James, who was getting out theoxen. James drove the oxen into the shed, andthere attached them to a certain vehicle calleda drag. This drag was formed of two planksplaced side by side, with small pieces nailedalong the sides and at the ends. The drag wasshaped at the front so as to turn up a little, inorder that it might not catch in the ground whendrawn along. There was a hole in the front partof the drag for the end of a chain to be passedthrough, to draw the drag by. The end of thechain was fastened by a wooden pin called a fid,which was passed through the hook or one ofthe links, and this prevented the chain from beingdrawn back through the hole again.
While James was attaching the oxen to thedrag, Antonio was putting such tools and implementsupon it as would be required for the work.He put on an iron bar, an ax, a saw, a shovel,and two spare chains.
"Now, children," said he, "jump on."
So Phonny and Malleville jumped on, and Antoniowith them. Antonio stood in the middleof the drag, while Phonny and Malleville tooktheir places on each side of him, and held on byhis arms. James then started the oxen along,and thus they went into the field.
"And now, Beechnut," said Malleville, "Iwish you would sing me the little song thatAgnes sung when she was dancing on the icethat summer night."
Phonny laughed aloud at this. "Oh, Malleville!"said he; "there could not be any ice ona summer night."
"Yes, there could," said Malleville, in a verypositive tone, "and there was. Beechnut toldme so."
"Oh, that was only one of Beechnut's stories,"said Phonny, "made up to amuse you."
"Well, I don't care," said Malleville, "I wantto hear the song again."
Beechnut had told Malleville a story aboutthe fairy Agnes whom he found dancing upon afountain one summer night in the woods, havingpreviously frozen over the surface of the waterwith a little silver wand. He had often sungthis song to Malleville, and now she wished tohear it again. The words of the song, as Beechnutsang them, were as follows:
Playing in the moonlight, nobody to see.
The boys and girls have gone away,
They've had their playtime in the day
And now the night is left for me:
Peep! peep! chippeda dee.
The music was as follows: