How many sentences would be included if the following lines from "Mowing" were read aloud? There was never a sound beside the wood but one, And that was my long scythe whispering to the ground.

2

There was never a sound beside the wood but one. And that was my long scythe whispering to the ground.

Technically you have two independent clauses here - you can get rid of the "and" at the beginning of the second sentence since and or but are usually meant to join sentences together into compound.