MacDonald much thanks.
And now there is just one more favor it asks, that you who read
it may in some measure strive to catch the great spirit of its
hero.
Marian Keith.
Toronto, Canada, April 24, 1912.
THE BLACK BEARDED BARBARIAN[1]
[1] The name by which George Leslie Mackay was known among the
Chinese of north Formosa.
CHAPTER I. SPLITTING ROCKS
Up in the stony pasture-field behind the barn the boys had been
working all the long afternoon. Nearly all, that is, for, being
boys, they had managed to mix a good deal of fun with their
labor. But now they were tired of both work and play, and
wondered audibly, many times over, why they were not yet called
home to supper.
The work really belonged to the Mackay boys, but, like Tom
Sawyer, they had made it so attractive that several volunteers
had come to their aid. Their father was putting up a new stone
house, near the old one down there behind the orchard, and the
two youngest of the family had been put at the task of breaking
the largest stones in the field.
It meant only to drag some underbrush and wood from the forest
skirting the farm, pile them on the stones, set fire to them, and
let the heat do the rest.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25