CHAPTERII
Thepost—officewasatEldredge’sstore，andEldredge’sstore，situatedatthecorners，wheretheMainRoadandtheDepotRoad——
whichisalsothedirectroadtoSouthDenboro——join，wasthemercantileandsocialcenterofDenboro。SimeonEldredgekeptthestore，andSimeonwasalsopostmaster，aswellasthetownconstable，undertaker，andauctioneer。Ifyouwantedaspoolofthread，acoffin，orthelatestbitofgossip，youappliedatEldredge’s。Thegossipyoucouldbemorallycertainofgettingatonce；thethreadorthecoffinyoumighthavetowaitfor。
IscarcelyknowwhyIwenttoEldredge’sthatmorning。Ididnotexpectmail，andIdidnotrequireSimeon’sservicesinanyoneofhisprofessionalcapacities。PossiblyLute’ssuggestionhadsomesortofpsychiceffectandIstoppedatthepost—officeinvoluntarily。Atanyrate，Iwokefromthetranceinwhichtheencounterwiththeautomobilehadleftmetofindmyselfwalkinginatthedoor。
Themailwasnotyetdue，tosaynothingofhavingarrivedorbeensorted，buttherewasafair—sizedcrowdonthesetteesandperchedontheedgeofthecounter。EzraMulletwasthere，andAlonzoBlackandAlvinBakerandThophNewcomb。BeriahDoaneandSamCahoon，wholivedinSouthDenboro，werethere，too，havingdrivenoverbehindBeriah’shorse，onanerrand；thatis，BeriahhadanerrandandSamcamealongtohelphimrememberit。Intherearofthestore，bytheframeofletterboxes，CaptainJedediahDeanwastalkingwithSimeon。
AlvinBakersawmefirstandhailedmeasIentered。
\"Here’sRosPaine，\"heexclaimed。\"He’llknowmoreaboutitthananybodyelse。Hey，Ros，howmanyhiredhelpdoeshekeep，anyhow？
Thophsaysit’seight，butIknowIcountedmore’nthat，myself。\"
\"It’seight，Itellyou，\"brokeinNewcomb，beforeIcouldanswer。
\"There’sthetwocooksandtheboythatwaitson’em——\"
\"Theideaofhavinganybodywaitonacook！\"interruptedMullet。
\"That’sblamefoolishness。\"
\"Ineversaidhewaitedonthecooks。Isaidhewaitedonthem——onthefamily。Andthere’sacoachman——\"
\"Whydotheycallthemkindoffellerscoachmen？\"putinThoph。
\"Thereain’tanycoach。Iseethecarriageswhentheycome——twofreightcarsfullof’em。Therewasaopentwo—seater，andabuckboard，andthathigh—wheeledthingtheycalledadog—cart。\"
BeriahDoanelaugheduproariously。\"Landoflove！\"heshouted。
\"Doesthedoghaveacartalltohimself？That’sagoodone！Youandmeain’tgotnodog，Sam，butwemighthaveacoupleofcat—
carts，hey？Haw！haw！\"
Thophpaidnoattentiontothispleasantry。\"Therewasthedog—
cart，\"herepeated，\"andanotherthingtheycalledthe’trap。’Buttherewan’tanycoach；I’llsweartoit。\"
\"Don’tmakenodifference，\"declaredAlvin；\"therewasamanalongthatSAIDhewasthecoachman，anyhow。Andabigminister—lookin’
fellerwhowasabutler，andtwohiredgirlsbesidesthecooks。
That’snine，anyhow。Onemore’nyousaid，Thoph。\"
\"Andthatdon’tcountthechauffeur，thechapthatrunstheautomobiles，\"saidAlonzoBlack。\"He’sthetenth。Say，Ros，\"
turningtome，\"howmanyisthere，altogether？\"
\"Howmanywhat？\"Iasked。Itwasmyfirstopportunitytospeak。
\"Why，hiredhelp——servants，youknow。HowmanydoesMr。Coltonkeep？\"
\"Idon’tknowhowmanyhekeeps，\"Isaid。\"WhyshouldI？\"
Thegrouplookedatmeinamazement。ThophNewcombvoicedthegeneralastonishment。
\"Whyshouldyou！\"herepeated。\"Whyshouldn’tyou，youmean！
You’relivin’rightnextdoorto’em，asyoumightsay！Mysoul！
IfIwasyouIcal’lateI’dknowaforethistime。\"
\"Nodoubtyouwould，Thoph。ButIdon’t。Ididn’tknowtheColtonshadarriveduntilIcamebyjustnow。Theyhavearrived，I
takeit。\"
Arrived！Therewasnoquestionofthearrival，norofitsbeingwitnessedbyeveryonepresent，myselfandtheSouthDenborodelegatesexcepted。NewcombandBakerandMulletandBlackbegantalkingalltogether。IlearnedthattheColtoninvasionofDenborowasaspectacleonlyequaledbytheyearlycomingofthecircustoHyannis，ortheopeningofthecattleshowatOstable。
Thecarriagesandhorseshadarrivedbyfreightthemorningbefore；
theservantsandthefamilyontheafternoontrain。
\"Isee’emmyself，\"affirmedAlonzo。\"Iwasasnighto’emasIbetoyou。Mrs。Coltonissortoffleshy，butashandsomeawomanasyou’dwanttosee。Ispoketoher，too。’It’saniceday，’I
says，’ain’tit？’\"
\"Whatdidshesay？\"askedNewcomb。
\"Shedidn’tsaynothin’。Enginewasmakin’suchanoiseshedidn’thear，Ipresumelikely。\"
\"Humph！\"sniffedBaker，evidentlyenvious；\"Iguesssheheardyou，allright。Fellerslikeyoumakemetired。Grabbin’everychancetocurryfavorwithrichfolks！Wonderyoudidn’ttellheryoudroveafish—cartandwantedhertrade！Asforme，I’mindependent。
Don’tmakenodifferencetomehowwell—offapersonis。They’rehuman，justthesameasIam，and_I_don’ttoadyto’em。Iftheywanttotalktheycansendforme。I’llwaittilltheydo。\"
\"Hopeyou’vegotlotsofpatience，Alvin，\"observedMulletdrily。
Duringthehilaritywhichfollowed，andwhiletheoffendedapostleofindependencewastryingtothinkofasufficientlycuttingreply，Iwalkedtotherearofthestore。
OurletterboxwasNumber218，inthecenteroftherack，and，asI
approached，Iglancedatitinvoluntarily。Tomysurprisetherewasaletterinit；Icouldseeitthroughtheglassoftheboxdoor。Lutehad，asIknew，gotthemailthepreviouseveningandthemorning’smailhadnotyetarrived。ThereforethislettermusthavebeenwrittenbysomeoneinDenboroandpostedlatethenightbeforeorearlythatmorning。ItwasnotthecustomforDenbororesidentstocommunicatewitheachotherthroughthemediumofthepost。Theypreferredtosavethetwocentsstampmoney，asageneralthing。Billssometimescamebymail，butthiswasthetenth，notthefirst，ofthemonth；and，besides，ourbillswerepaid。
Ireachedintomypocketformykeys，unlockedtheboxandtookouttheletter。Theenvelopewassquare，ofanexpensivequality，andeminentlyaristocratic。ItwaspostmarkedDenboro，datedthatmorning，andaddressedinasharp，clearmasculinehandunfamiliartome，to\"RoscoePaine，Esq。\"The\"Esq。\"wouldhavesettledit，ifthehandwritinghadnot。Nofellow—townsmanofmyacquaintancewouldaddressme，oranyoneelse，asEsquire。MistersandCaptainswerecommonenough，butEsquires——no。
ItwasaDenborocustom，whenonereceivedamysteriousletter，togetthefullestenjoymentoutofthemysterybeforesolvingit。I
hadknownDorindaRogerstoguess，surmiseandspeculatefortenminutesbeforeopeningapatentmedicinecircular。But，thoughmysterieswereuncommonenoughinmylife，IthinkIshouldhavereachedthesolutionofthisoneinthenextsecond——infact，Ihadtorntheendfromtheenvelope——whenIwasinterrupted。
ItwasCaptainDeanwhointerruptedme。Hehadevidentlyconcludedhisconversationwiththepostmasterandnowwasbearingdownmajesticallyuponme，likeatenthousandtonsteameronaporgieschooner。
\"Hey，you——Ros！\"heroared。Hewasatmyelbow，butheroaredjustthesame。Skipperofacoasterinhisearlydays，hehadneveroutgrownthehabitofpitchinghisvoicetocarryaboveafifty—
milegale。\"Hey，Ros。Seehere；Iwanttotalktoyou。\"
Ididnotwanttotalkwithanyone，particularlywithhim。Hewastheindividualwho，accordingtoLute，hadbracketedMr。Rogersandmyselfasbirdsofafeather，theremarkwhichwasprimarilyresponsibleformyillhumorofthemorning。Ifhehadnotsaidthat，andifLutehadnotquotedthesayingtome，Imighthavebehavedlesslikeafoolwhenthatautomobileovertookme，Imightnothavegiventhatyoungidiot，whoseChristiannameitseemedwasVictor，theopportunitytobesmartatmyexpense。ThatgirlwiththedarkeyesmightnothavelookedatmeasifIwereawormoraJunebug。Confoundher！whatrighthadshetolookatmelikethat？Victor，orwhateverhisnamewas，wasacubandacadandasfreshasthenewpaintonBenSmall’slighthouse，buthehaddeignedtospeak。Whereasthatgirl——！
No，IdidnotwanttotalkwithJedediahDean。However，hewantedtotalktome，andwhathewantedheusuallygot。
CaptainDeanwasoneofDenboro’sleadingcitizens。HisparentshadbeenaspoorasJob’sturkey，butJedediahhaddeterminedtogetmoneyandnowhehadit。Hewasreputedtobeworth\"upwardsofthirtythousand，\"ownedacresandacresofcranberryswamps，andthenewhousehehadjustbuiltwasalmostasbigasitwasugly，whichissayingconsiderable。Hehadwantedtobeadeaconinthechurchand，thoughthechurchwasbynomeanssoeager，deaconhebecame。HewasanuncompromisingDemocrat，buthehadforcedhimselfintotheBoardofSelectmen，everyothermemberaRepublican。HewasdirectorintheDenborobank，anditwastowntalkthathismostardentdesireatthepresenttimewastoseehisdaughterHelen——Nellie，weallcalledher——marriedtoGeorgeTaylor，cashierofthatbank。AsGeorgeandNelliewere\"keepingcompany\"itseemedlikelythatCaptainJedwouldbegratifiedinthis，asinallotherdesires。Hewasabornboss，anddidhisbesttorunthetownaccordingtohisideas。CaptainElishaWarren，wholivedoverinSouthDenboroandwasalsoadirectorinthebank，coveredthesituationwhenhesaid：\"JedDeanisoneofthosefellerswhooughttohaveabigfamilytoorderaround。TheAlmightygavehimonlyonechildandsoheadoptedDenboroandisbossin’that。\"
\"Iwanttotalktoyou，Ros，\"repeatedCaptainJed。\"Comehere。\"
Heledthewaytothesetteebythecalicoanddressgoodscounter。
Iputtheunreadletterinmypocketandfollowedhim。
\"Setdown，\"heordered。\"Cometoanchoralongside。\"
Icametoanchor。
\"How’syourmother？\"heasked。\"Matildawascal’latin’togodownandsetwithheraspellthisafternoon，ifshedidn’thaveanythingelsetodo——ifMatildadidn’t，Imean。\"
Matildawashiswife。Inherhusband’scompanyshewasasdumbasabrokenphonograph；whenhewasnotwithhershetalkedcontinuously，asiftogeteven。AcallfromMatildaDeanwasoneoftheadditionaltrialswhichmadeMother’sinvalidstatehardertobear。
\"Courseshemaynotcome，\"Jedediahhastenedtosay。\"She’sprettybusythesedays。Butifshedon’thaveanythingelsetodoshewill。Itoldhershe’dbetter。\"
\"Motherwillbecharmed，\"Isaid。CaptainJedwasnofoolandhelookedatmesharply。
\"Um；yes，\"hegrunted。\"Ipresumelikely。You’recharmed，too，ain’tyou？\"
Iwasnotexpectingthis。ImurmuredsomethingtotheeffectthatIwasdelighted，ofcourse。
\"Sartin。Well，that’sallright。Ididn’tgetyouonthissetteetocharmyou。Iwanttotalkbusinesswithyouaminute。\"
\"Business！Withme？\"
\"Yup。Oritmaybebusinesslateron。I’vebeenthinkin’aboutthatShoreLane，theonethatrunsthroughyourland。Ustownfolksusethatawholelot。Ical’latemosteverybody’scometolookatitasareg’larpublicroadtothebeach。\"
\"Why，yes，Isupposetheyhave，\"Isaid，puzzledtoknowwhathewasdrivingat。\"Itisapublicroad，practically。\"
\"No，’tain’t，neither。It’saprivateway，andifyouwantedtoyoucouldshutitoffanyday。Agoodmanyfolkswouldhaveshutitoffaforethis。\"
\"Oh，Iguessnot。\"
\"Iguessyes。I’dshutitoffmyself。Iwouldn’thaveTom，DickandHarrydrivin’fishwagonsandtipcartsfullofseaweedthroughmypremisesfreegratisfornothin’。\"
\"Why？\"Iasked。\"Whatharmdoesitdo？\"
\"Idon’tknowasitdoesany。Butbecauseatrampsleepin’onmyfrontpiazzamightnotharmthepiazza，that’snoreasonwhyI’dlethimsleepthere。\"
Ilaughed。\"Thetwocasesaren’texactlyalike，arethey？\"Isaid。
\"Thelandisofnovaluetousatpresent。MotherandIaregladtohavetheLaneused，ifitisaconvenience，asIsupposeitis。\"
\"It’sthat，sartin。Ros，whoownsthatlandtheLanerunsthrough——
youoryourmother？\"
\"Itisinmyname，\"Isaid。
\"Um—hm。Well，wouldyousellit？\"
\"Sellit！Sellthatstripofsandandbeachgrass！Whowouldbuyit？\"
\"Idon’tknowasanybodywould。Ijustaskedifyou’dsellit，that’sall。\"
\"PerhapsIwould。IpresumeIshould，ifIhadthechance。\"
\"Ain’thadanychanceyet，haveyou？\"
\"Whatdoyoumeanbythat？\"
\"Oh，nothin’，nothin’！Well，youjustthinkitover。Ifyoudecideyouwouldsellitandgetsofurasfixin’apriceonit，letmeknow，willyou？\"
\"Captain，whatintheworlddoyouwantofthatland？Seehere！
youdon’twanttoshutofftheShoreLane，doyou？\"
\"WhatintimewouldIwanttoshutitofffor？Iuseitasmuchasanybody，don’tI？\"
\"ThenIdon’tsee——\"
\"Maybethereain’tnothin’TOsee。Only，ifyoudecidetosell，letmeknow。Yes，anddon’tsellWITHOUTlettin’meknow。
Understand？\"
\"No，Idon’t。\"
\"Well，youunderstandenough，Ical’late。AllIwantyoutodoistopromisenottosellthatlandtheLane’sonwithoutspeakin’tomefust。Willyoupromisethat？\"
Iconsideredforamoment。\"Yes，\"Isaid，\"I’llpromisethat。
ThoughIcan’timaginewhatyou’redrivingat。\"
\"Youdon’tneedto。MaybeI’mjustdrivin’blind；IhopeIam。
That’sallIwantedtotalkabout，\"risingfromthesettee。\"Oh，bytheway，\"headded，\"yourneighborhood’shonoredjustnow，ain’tit？TheKingofNewYork’sarrived，theytellme。\"
\"KingofNewYork？Oh！Isee；youmeantheColtons。\"
\"Sartin。Whoelse？MethisMajestyyet？\"
\"No。Haveyou？\"
\"Imethimwhenhewasdownamonthago。SimEldredgeintroducedmerighthereinthestore。’Mr。Colton，’saysSim，proudbuthumble，sotospeak，’letmemakeyouacquaintedwithoneofourselectmen，Cap’nDean。Cap’n，shakehandswithMr。ColtonofNewYork。’Weshook，andIcal’lateI’doughttohavekeptthathandinaglasscaseeversince。But，somehoworother，Iain’t。\"
\"WhatsortofachapisColton？\"Iasked。
\"Oh，allrightofhiskind，Iguess。Inamongstagangofhighfinancerslikehimselfhe’dsizeupasaprettygoodsport，I
shouldn’twonder。Andhewaspoliteenoughtome，Isuppose。But，darnhim，Ididn’tlikethewayhelookedatme！Helookedasif——
asif——well，Ican’ttellyouhowhelooked。\"
\"Youdon’tneedto，\"Isaid，brusquely。\"Iknow。\"
\"Youdo，hey？Heain’tlookedatyou，hashe？No，courseheain’t！Yousaidyouhadn’tmethim。\"
\"I’vemetothersofhiskind。\"
\"Yes。Well，I’mahayseedandIknowit。I’mjustacountrymanandhe’samillionaire。He’llbethebigshowinthistownfromnowon。Whenheblowshisnoseseven—eighthsofthiscommunity’llstartinworkin’upacoldinthehead。\"
Heturnedonhisheelandstartedtogo。
\"Willyou？\"Iasked，slily。
Helookedbackoverhisshoulder。\"Iain’tsubjecttocolds——
much，\"hesnapped。\"ButYOUbetterlayinasupplyofhandkerchiefs，Ros。\"
Ismiled。Iknewwhatwastroublinghim。Alittletingodhasapleasanttimeofit，nodoubt，untilthecomingoftheeighteencaratgoldidol。CaptainJedhadbeenbossofDenboro——self—
appointedtothateminentposition，butholdingitnevertheless——
andtobepushedfromhisperchbyacityrivalwasdisagreeable。
IfIknewhimhewouldnotbedethronedwithoutafight。Therewerelikelytobesomeinterestingandlivelytimesinourvillage。
IcouldunderstandDean’sdislikeofColton，buthisinterestintheShoreLanewasamystery。Whyshouldhewishtobuythatworthlessstripofland？AndwhatdidhemeanbyaskingifIhadchancestosellit？Stillponderingoverthispuzzle，Iwalkedtowardthefrontofthestore，pastthegroupwaitingforthemail，wherethediscussionconcerningtheColtonswasstillgoingon，ThophNewcombandAlvinBakerbothtalkingatonce。
\"YouaskRos，\"shoutedAlvin，poundingthecounterbesidehim。
\"Say，Ros，Newcombhereseemstothinkthatbecauseafellercomesfromthecityandisrichthatthatgiveshimtherighttoordertherestofusaroundasifwewasfo’masthands。Hesays——\"
\"Idon’tneither！\"yelledThoph。\"WhatIsayisthatmoneycounts，and——\"
\"Youdo，too！Ros，doYOUintendtogetdownonyourkneestothemColtons？\"
Ilaughedandwentonwithoutreplying。Ileftthestoreandstrolledacrosstheroadtothebank，intendingtomakeashortcallonGeorgeTaylor，thecashier，mymostintimateacquaintanceandtheonepersoninDenborowhocamenearesttobeingmyfriend。
ButGeorgewasbusyinthedirectors’room，and，afterwaitingafewmomentsinconversationwithHenrySmall，thebookkeeper，I
gaveitupandwalkedhome，acrossthefieldsthistime；Ihadnodesiretomeetmoreautomobilists。
Dorindahadfinisheddustingthediningroomandwasbusyupstairs。
Icouldheartheswish—swishofherbroomoverhead。IopenedthedoorleadingtoMother’sbedroomandentered，closingthedoorbehindme。
Thecurtainsweredrawn，astheyalwayswereonsunnydays，andtheroomwasindeepshadow。Motherhadbeenasleep，Ithink，butsheheardmystepandrecognizedit。
\"Isthatyou，Boy？\"sheasked。IfIhadbeenfifty，insteadofthirty—one，Motherwouldhavecalledme\"Boy\"justthesame。
\"Yes，Mother，\"Isaid。
\"Wherehaveyoubeen？Forawalk？Itisabeautifulmorning，isn’tit。\"
Heronlywayofknowingthatthemorningwasabeautifulonewasthattheshadesweredrawn。Shehadnotseenthesunlightonthebay，northebluesky；shehadnotfeltthespringbreezeonherface，orthegreengrassbeneathherfeet。Heronlyglimpsesoftheoutsideworldwerethosewhichshegotoncloudyorstormydayswhentheshadeswereraisedafewinchesand，turningherheadonthepillow，shecouldseebeneaththem。Forsixyearsshehadbeenhelplessandbedriddeninthatlittleroom。Butshenevercomplained。
ItoldherthatIhadbeenuptownforawalk。
\"Didyoumeetanyone？\"sheasked。
IsaidthatIhadmetCaptainDeanandNewcombandtherest。I
saidnothingofmyencounterwiththemotorcar。
\"CaptainJedgraciouslyinformedmethathiswifemightbedowntositwithyouthisafternoon，\"Isaid。\"Providedshedidn’thaveanythingelsetodo；hetookpainstoaddthat。Youmustn’tseeher，ofcourse。\"
Shesmiled。\"Whynot？\"sheasked。\"Matildaisalittletiresomeattimes，butshemeanswell。\"
\"Humph！Mother，IthinkyouwouldmakeexcusesfortheOldHarryhimself。Thatwomanwilltalkyoutodeath。\"
\"Oh，no！Notasbadasthat。AndpoorMatildadoesn’ttalkmuchathome，I’mafraid。\"
\"Herhusbandseestothat；Idon’tblamehim。Bytheway，theCaptainhadaqueerbeeinhisbonnetthismorning。Heseemstobethinkingofbuyingsomeofourproperty。\"
ItoldherofJedediah’sinterestintheShoreLaneandhishintconcerningitspossiblepurchase。Shelistenedandthensaidthoughtfully：
\"Whathaveyoudecidedtodoaboutit，Roscoe？\"
\"Ihaven’tdecidedatall。Whatdoyouthink，Mother？\"
\"ItseemstomethatIshouldn’tsell，atleastuntilIknewhisreasonforwantingtobuy。Itwouldbedifferentifweneededthemoney，but，ofcourse，wedon’t。\"
\"Ofcourse，\"Isaid，hastily。\"Butwhynotsell？Wedon’tusetheland。\"
\"No。ButtheDenboropeopleneedthatLane。Theyuseitagreatdeal。Ifitwerecloseditwouldputmanyofthemtoagreatinconvenience，particularlythosewhogettheirlivingalongshore。
EveryoneinDenborohasbeensokindtous。Ifeelthatweowethemadebtwenevercanrepay。\"
\"Noonecouldhelpbeingkindtoyou，Mother。Oh！Ihaveanotherpieceofnews。Didyouknowthatournewneighbors，theColtons，havearrived？\"
\"Yes。Dorindatoldme。Haveyoumetanyofthem？\"
\"No。\"
\"DorindasaysMrs。Coltonisaninvalid。Poorwoman！itmustbehardtobeillwhenonehassomuchtoenjoy。Dorindasaystheyhaveaveryprettydaughter。\"
Imadenocomment。Iwasnotinterestedinprettydaughters，justthen。Thememoryofthegirlintheautowastoofreshinmymind。
\"Didyougotothepost—office，Roscoe？\"askedMother。\"Isupposetherewerenoletters。Thereseldomare。\"
ThenIrememberedtheletterinmypocket。Ihadforgottenitaltogether。
\"Why，yes，therewasaletter，aletterforme。Ihaven’treadityet。\"
Itooktheenvelopefrommypocketanddrewouttheenclosure。Thelatterwasanote，verybriefandverymuchtothepoint。Ireadit。
\"Well，byGeorge！\"Iexclaimed，angrily。
\"Whatisit，Roscoe？\"
\"ItappearstobeasummonsfromwhatCaptainJedcalledtheKingofNewYork。Asummonstoappearatcourt。\"
\"Atcourt？\"
\"Oh，notthecriminalcourt。MerelythepalaceofhisMajesty。
Justlisten。\"
Thiswastheletter：
RoscoePaine，Esq。
DearSir：
Ishouldliketoseeyouatmyhousethis——Thursday——forenoon，onamatterofbusiness。Ishallexpectyouatanytimeafterteninthemorning。
Yourstruly，JAMESW。COLTON。
\"FromMr。Colton！\"exclaimedMother。\"Why！whatcanhewantofyou？\"
\"Idon’tknow，\"Ianswered。\"AndIdon’tparticularlycare。\"
\"Roscoe！\"
\"Mother，didyoueverhearsuchacool，nervypropositioninyourlife？Hewantstoseemeandheordersmetocometohim。Whydoesn’thecometome？\"
\"Isupposehedidn’tthinkofit。HeisabigmaninNewYorkandhehasbeenaccustomedtohavingpeoplecomeathisconvenience。
It’shiswayofdoingthings，Isuppose。\"
\"ThenIdon’tliketheway。ThisisDenboro，notNewYork。Hewillexpectmeatanytimeafterten，willhe？Well，asMulletsaidtoAlvinBakerjustnowatthepost—office，Ihopehehaslotsofpatience。He’llneedit。\"
\"Butwhatcanhewantofyou？\"
\"Idon’tknow。Wantstolookoverhisnearestjayneighbor，I
shouldimagine，andseewhatsortofacurioheis。Hethinksitmaybenecessarytoputupbarbedwirefences，Isuppose。\"
\"Roscoe，don’tbenarrow—minded。Mr。Colton’swaysaren’toursandwemustmakeallowances。\"
\"Lethimmakeafew，forachange。\"
\"Aren’tyougoingtoseehim？\"
\"No。AtleastnotuntilIgetgoodandready。\"
DorindacameinjustthentoaskMothersomequestionsconcerningdinner，for，thoughMotherhadnotseenthediningroomsincethatday，sixyearsago，whenshewascarriedfromittoherbedroom，shekeptherinterestinhouseholdaffairsandinsistedonbeingconsultedonallquestionsofmanagementandinternaleconomy。I
rosefrommychairandstartedtowardthedoor。
\"Areyougoing，Roscoe？\"askedMother。
\"Yes。\"
\"Where？\"
\"Oh，justoutofdoors；perhapstotheboat—house。\"
\"Boy。\"
\"Yes，Mother？\"
\"Whatisthematter？Somethinghasgonewrong；Iknewitassoonasyoucamein。Whatisit？\"
\"Nothing。Thatis，nothingofanyconsequence。I’malittleoutofsortsto—dayandthatman’sletterirritatesme。I’llgetoverit。I’llbebacksoon。Good—by，Mother。\"
\"Good—by，Boy。\"
Iwentoutthroughthediningroomandkitchen，tothebackyard，where，seatingmyselfonLute’sfavoriterestingplace，thewashbench，Ilitmypipeandsatthinking，gloomilythinking。’
