At one side tottered the
remains of a series of wooden racks upon which pans of
milk had doubtless stood to cool in a long gone, happier
day. Some of the uprights had rotted away so that a
part of the frail structure had collapsed to the earthen
floor. A table with one leg missing and a crippled chair
constituted the balance of the contents of the cellar
and there was no living creature and no chain nor any
other visible evidence of the presence which had
clanked so lugubriously out of the dark depths during
the vanished night. The boy breathed a heartfelt sigh of
relief and Bridge laughed, not without a note of relief
either.
"You see there is nothing," he said--"nothing except
some firewood which we can use to advantage. I regret
that James is not here to attend me; but since he is not
you and I will have to carry some of this stuff upstairs,"
and together they returned to the floor above, their
arms laden with pieces of the dilapidated milk rack. The
girl was awaiting them at the head of the stairs while the
two tramps whispered together at the opposite side of
the room.
It took Bridge but a moment to have a roaring fire
started in the old stove in the kitchen, and as the warmth
rolled in comforting waves about them the five felt for
the first time in hours something akin to relief and well
being.
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