trail brought the homestead into view.

A cry of alarm broke from his lips and with good reason. The
little shelter had stood close to a large hemlock tree. The

lightning had struck the tree, causing it to topple ever. In
falling, it had landed fairly and squarely upon the cabin,

smashing it completely. One corner of the cabin was in ashes,
but the heavy rain had probably extinguished the conflagration.

"Uncle Hiram!" cried the boy, as soon as he recovered from his
amazement. "Uncle Hiram, where are you?"

There was no answer to this call and for the moment Joe's heart
seemed to stop beating. Was the old hermit under that pile of

ruins? If so it was more than likely he was dead.
Dropping his fish and his lines, the youth sprang to the front of

the cabin. The door had fallen to the ground and before him was
a mass of wreckage with a small hollow near the bottom. He

dropped on his knees and peered inside.
"Uncle Hiram!" he called again.

There was no answer, and he listened with bated breath. Then he
fancied he heard a groan, coming from the rear of what was left

of the cabin. He ran around to that point and pulled aside some
boards and a broken window sash.

"Uncle Hiram, are you here?"
"Joe!" came in a low voice, full of pain. The man tried to say

more but could not.
Hauling aside some more boards, Joe now beheld the hermit, lying

flat on his back, with a heavy beam resting on his chest. He was
also suffering from a cut on the forehead and from a broken

ankle.
"This is too bad, Uncle Hiram!" he said, in a trembling voice.

"I'll get you out just as soon as I can."
"Be--be careful, Joe--I--I--my ribs must be broken," gasped the

hermit.
"I'll be careful," answered the boy, and began to pull aside one

board after another. Then he tugged away at the beam but could
not budge it.

"Raise it up Joe--it--is--crushing the life ou--out of me," said
the hermit faintly.

"I'll pry it up," answered the boy, and ran off to get a block of
wood. Then he procured a stout pole and with this raised the

heavy beam several inches.
"Can you crawl out, Uncle Hiram?"

There was no answer, and Joe saw that the man had fainted from
exhaustion. Fixing the pole so it could not slip, he caught hold

of the hermit and dragged him to a place of safety.
Joe had never had to care for a hurt person before and he

scarcely knew how to proceed. He laid the hermit on the grass and
washed his face with water. Soon Hiram Bodley opened his eyes

once more.
"My chest!" he groaned. "All of my ribs must be broken! And my

ankle is broken, too!" And he groaned again.
"I had better get a doctor, Uncle Hiram."

"A doctor can't help me."
"Perhaps he can."

"I haven't any faith in doctors. A doctor operated on my mother
and killed her."

"But Doctor Gardner is a nice man. He will do all he can for
you, I am sure," urged Joe.

"Well, Dr. Gardner is a good fellow I admit. If you--can--can
get him--I'll--I'll --" The sufferer tried to go on but could

not.
"I think I can get him. But I hate to leave you alone." And Joe

stared around helplessly. He wished he had Ned with him.
"Never mind--give me a drink--then go," answered Hiram Bodley.

He had often taken Doctor Gardner out to hunt with him and liked
the physician not a little.

Inside of five minutes Joe was on the way to the doctor's
residence, which was on the outskirts of Riverside. He had left

the hermit as comfortable as possible, on a mattress and covered
with a cloth to keep off the night air,-- for it was now growing

late and the sun had set behind the mountains.
Tired though he was the boy pulled with might and main, and so

reached the dock of the physician's home in a short space of
time. Running up the walk of the neatly-kept garden, he mounted

the piazza and rang the bell several times.
"What's the matter?" asked Doctor Gardner, who came himself to

answer the summons.
"Our cabin is in ruins, because of the storm, and Mr. Bodley is

badly hurt," answered Joe, and related some of the particulars.
"This is certainly too bad, my boy," said the physician. "I'll

come at once and do what I can for him."
He ran for a case of instruments and also for some medicines, and

then followed Joe back to the boat.
"You act as if you were tired," said the doctor, after he had

watched Joe at the oars for several minutes.
"I am tired, sir--I've been rowing a good deal to-day. But I

guess I can make it."
"Let me row," said the physician, and took the oars. He was a

fine oarsman, and the trip was made in half the time it would
have taken Joe to cover the distance.

At the dock there was a lantern, used by Joe and the hermit when
they went fishing at night. This was lit, and the two hurried up

the trail to the wreck of the cabin.
Hiram Bodley was resting where Joe had left him. He was

breathing with difficulty and did not at first recognize the
doctor.

"Take it off!" he murmured. "Take it off! It is--is crushing
th--the life out of--of me!"

"Mr. Bodley--Hiram, don't you know me?" asked Doctor Gardner,
kindly.

"Oh! So it's you? I guess you can't do much, doctor, can you?
I--I'm done for!" And a spasm of pain crossed the sufferer's

face.
"While there is life there is hope," answered the physician,

noncommittally. He recognized at once that Hiram Bodley's
condition was critical.

"He'll get over it, won't he?" questioned Joe, quickly.
The doctor did not answer, but turned to do what he could for the

hurt man. He felt of his chest and listened to his breathing,
and then administered some medicine.

"His ankle is hurt, too," said Joe.
"Never mind the ankle just now, Joe," was the soft answer.

There was something in the tone that alarmed the boy and he
caught the physician by the arm.

"Doctor, tell me the truth!" he cried. "Is he is he going to
die?"

"I am afraid so, my lad. His ribs are crushed and one of them
has stuck into his right lung."

At these words the tears sprang into the boy's eyes and it was
all he could do to keep from crying outright. Even though the

old hermit had been rough in his ways, Joe thought a good deal of
the man.

"Cannot you do something, doctor," he pleaded.
"Not here. We might do something in a hospital, but he would not

survive the journey. He is growing weaker every moment. Be
brave, my lad. It is a terrible trial, I know, but you must

remember that all things are for the best."
Joe knelt beside the sufferer and took hold of his hand. Hiram

Bodley looked at him and then at the doctor.
"I--I can't live--I know it," he said hoarsely. "Joe, stay by me

till I die, won't you?"
"Yes!" faltered the boy. "Oh, this is awful!"

"I'm sorry to leave you so soon, Joe--I--I thought I'd be--be
able to do something for you some day."

"You have done something for me, Uncle Hiram."
"All I've got goes to you, Joe. Doctor, do you hear that?"

"I do."
"It--it ain't much, but it's something. The blue box--I put it in

the blue box--" Here the sufferer began to cough.
"The blue box?" came from Joe questioningly.

"Yes, Joe, all in the blue box--the papers and the money--And the
blue box is--is--" Again the sufferer began to cough. "I--I want

water!" he gasped.
The water was brought and he took a gulp. Then he tried to speak

again, but the effort was in vain. The doctor and Joe raised him
up.

"Uncle Hiram! Speak to me!" cried the boy.
But Hiram Bodley was past speaking. He had passed to the Great

Beyond.
CHAPTER IV.

THE SEARCH FOR THE BLUE BOX.
Three days after his tragic death Hiram Bodley was buried.

Although he was fairly well known in the lake region only a
handful of people came to his funeral. Joe was the chief

mourner, and it can honestly be said that he was much downcast
when he followed the hermit to his last resting place.

After the funeral several asked Joe what he intended to do. He
could not answer the question.

"Have you found that blue box?" questioned Doctor Gardner.
"No, sir, I have not thought of it."

"Probably it contains money and papers of value, Joe."
"I am going to look for it to-day," said the boy. "I--I couldn't

look for it while-- while--"
"I understand. Well, I trust you locate the box and that it

contains all you hope for," added the physician.
As luck would have it, Ned Talmadge's family had just gone away

on a trip to the West, so Mr. Talmadge could offer the boy no
assistance. But Ned was on hand and did what he could.

"You don't know what you'll do next, do you, Joe?" asked Ned, as
he and Joe returned to the wreck of the cabin.

"No."
"Well, if you haven't any money I'll do what I can for you."

"Thank you, Ned; you are very kind."
"It must be hard to be thrown out on the world in this fashion,"

went on the rich boy, sympathetically.
"It is hard. After all, I thought a good deal of Uncle Hiram.

He was strange in his ways, but he had a good heart."
"Wasn't he shot in the head once by accident in the woods?"

"Yes."
"Maybe that made him queer at times."

"Perhaps so."
"I've got six dollars and a half of my spending money saved up.

You may have that if you wish," continued Ned, generously.
"I'd rather not take it, Ned."

"Why not?"
"If I can, I want to be independent. Besides, I think there is

money around somewhere," and Joe mentioned the missing blue box.
"You must hunt for that blue box by all means!" cried the rich

boy. "I'll help you."
After the death of Hiram Bodley, Joe and two of the lake guides

had managed to repair one room of the broken-down cabin, and from
this the funeral had taken place.

The room contained a bed, a table, two benches and a few dishes
and cooking utensils The floor was bare and the window was broken

out. It was truly a most uninviting home.
"Of course you are not going to stay here, now you are alone?"

said Ned, after a look around.
"I don't know where else to go, Ned."

"Why not move into town!"
"Perhaps I will. But I want to find that blue box before I

decide on anything."
Without delay the two boys set to work among the ruins, looking

• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)
• suffering [´sʌfəriŋ] n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词)
• forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
• physician [fi´ziʃən] n.(内科)医生 (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
• funeral [´fju:nərəl] n.葬礼，丧葬；困难 (初中英语单词)
• honestly [´ɔnistli] ad.诚实地，老实地 (初中英语单词)
• missing [´misiŋ] a.缺掉的；失踪的 (初中英语单词)
• repair [ri´peə] v.&n.修理，修补 (初中英语单词)
• hermit [´hə:mit] n.隐士 (高中英语单词)
• mattress [´mætris] n.床垫 (高中英语单词)
• related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)
• lantern [´læntən] n.灯笼；提灯 (高中英语单词)
• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)
• tragic [´trædʒik] a.悲剧的；悲惨的 (高中英语单词)
• homestead [´həumsted] n.家宅，宅基 (英语四级单词)
• hemlock [´hemlɔk] n.铁杉；毒胡萝卜 (英语四级单词)
• squarely [´skwɛəli] ad.成方形地；正直地 (英语四级单词)
• sufferer [´sʌfərə] n.受苦的人；患者 (英语四级单词)
• fishing [´fiʃiŋ] n.钓鱼；捕鱼；渔业 (英语四级单词)
• beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
• helplessly [´helplisli] ad.无能为力地 (英语六级单词)
• outskirts [´autskə:ts] n.外边；郊区 (英语六级单词)
• riverside [´rivəsaid] n.河岸 a.河岸上的 (英语六级单词)
• piazza [pi´ætsə] n.广场；市场 (英语六级单词)
• hoarsely [´hɔ:sli] ad.嘶哑地 (英语六级单词)
• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)