The Heart Of The Hills John Fox, Jr. The Heart Of The Hills Table of Contents The Heart Of The Hills.............................................................................................................................................1 John Fox, Jr....................................................................................................................................................1 I......................................................................................................................................................................2 II.....................................................................................................................................................................3 III....................................................................................................................................................................7 IV.................................................................................................................................................................11 V...................................................................................................................................................................13 VI.................................................................................................................................................................19 VII................................................................................................................................................................21 VIII...............................................................................................................................................................24 IX.................................................................................................................................................................28 X...................................................................................................................................................................35 XI.................................................................................................................................................................37 XII................................................................................................................................................................42 XIII...............................................................................................................................................................46 XIV...............................................................................................................................................................51 XV................................................................................................................................................................54 XVI...............................................................................................................................................................56 XVII.............................................................................................................................................................60 XVIII............................................................................................................................................................64 XIX...............................................................................................................................................................70 XX................................................................................................................................................................72 XXI...............................................................................................................................................................74 XXII.............................................................................................................................................................77 XXIII............................................................................................................................................................79 XXIV............................................................................................................................................................82 XXV.............................................................................................................................................................83 XXVI............................................................................................................................................................87 XXVII..........................................................................................................................................................88 XXVIII.........................................................................................................................................................91 XXIX............................................................................................................................................................94 XXX.............................................................................................................................................................96 XXXI............................................................................................................................................................97 XXXII..........................................................................................................................................................98 XXXIII.......................................................................................................................................................100 XXXIV.......................................................................................................................................................102 XXXV........................................................................................................................................................103 XXXVI.......................................................................................................................................................107 XXXVII.....................................................................................................................................................110 XXXVIII....................................................................................................................................................113 XXXIX.......................................................................................................................................................114 XL..............................................................................................................................................................117 XLI.............................................................................................................................................................118 XLII............................................................................................................................................................122 XLIII..........................................................................................................................................................125 XLIV..........................................................................................................................................................128 XLV...........................................................................................................................................................129 XLVI..........................................................................................................................................................133 i The Heart Of The Hills Table of Contents The Heart Of The Hills XLVII.........................................................................................................................................................134 XLVIII.......................................................................................................................................................137 ii The Heart Of The Hills John Fox, Jr. This page copyright © 2002 Blackmask Online. http://www.blackmask.com • I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII • XIX • XX • XXI • XXII • XXIII • XXIV • XXV • XXVI • XXVII • XXVIII • XXIX • XXX • XXXI • XXXII • XXXIII • XXXIV • XXXV • XXXVI • XXXVII • XXXVIII • XXXIX • XL • XLI • XLII The Heart Of The Hills 1 The Heart Of The Hills • XLIII • XLIV • XLV • XLVI • XLVII • XLVIII Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF MY FATHER WHO LOVED THE GREAT MOTHER, HER FORMS, HER MOODS, HER WAYS. TO THE END SHE LEFT HIM THE JOY OF YOUTH IN THE COMING OF SPRING June 28, 1912. I Twin spirals of blue smoke rose on either side of the spur, crept tendril−like up two dark ravines, and clearing the feathery green crests of the trees, drifted lazily on upward until, high above, they melted shyly together and into the haze that veiled the drowsy face of the mountain. Each rose from a little log cabin clinging to the side of a little hollow at the head of a little creek. About each cabin was a rickety fence, a patch of garden, and a little cleared hill−side, rocky, full of stumps, and crazily traced with thin green spears