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Show 125 I wanted to fire up the cook stove for you kids so you could see how we used to do things." He crossed his legs. "We were about to fill the wood box with some trimmings I'd cut last fall on the fruit trees when Dyna asked why the box had a raised floor inside. A 'false' floor, you might call it. "Well, I'd known about that for years. They built 'em that way, with a little air apace underneath to keep the wood dry. Never suspected there was anything under it. Dyna went outside for the first load and while she was gone I just lifted up on that little ring, figuring we might clean out a spider's nest or two." He held up the tin container. "This is what I found." "What is it?" Jeff asked, up on his knees. Dyna could see by their faces the kids expected treasure. Everyone leaned forward as Oscar opened the lid and took out a small book bound in black leather. "A Bible!" Tammy exclaimed. "No, it's a journal," Oscar said quietly, "written in my grandfather's hand. About this house." He turned the pages carefully to a marker he'd placed. There was no sound in the room now but the popping of fruitwood logs in the fireplace. Oscar began to read. "September 11, 1862. The house will measure 24 by 35, the kitchen 16 by 10, Julianna being specially particular about the kitchen. Figure to build with 8 cords of rock for foundation, 8 cords of cobblestones, 20,000 bricks, 7,000 feet of lumber and about 10,000 shingles. Cost $2,300." Oscar stopped reading and looked at Mrs. Simpson. Dyna felt the goose bumps rise along her arms. It was like hearing a voice from the dead. "Read some more," everyone urged. He turned to the next page. "Set the apple trees out today, also currant bushes and peach trees. Sent Julianna and the babies to stay with her sister near Emmaville. She wants a fieldstone fireplace in the house at each end. A house and the land should come together, she says." Oscar stopped reading, but his voice was shaky when he said, "My grandpa wrote that more than a hundred years ago." |