, "to have every room on the bottom would take up all
the lot and lap over into the river."

"Better do that," sez Uncle Nate, "than to have your children and
grand-children blowed away. Safety is better than sile," sez he
solemnly. And then I hearn 'em talkin' about a travelin' woodhouse.
Josiah advoctated the idee of havin' the woodhouse made in the form of
a boat, only boarded up like a house, and have big oars fixed onto the
sides on't so's it could be used as a boat, and a house. Sez he:

"How handy it would be to jest onmoor the woodhouse and row over to
the main land and git the year's stock of wood, and then row back
agin, cast anchor and hitch it onto the house agin." But Uncle Nate
demurred. He thought the expense would be more than the worth of usin'
it once a year.

"Once a year!" sez Josiah. "You forgit how much kindlin' wood a woman
uses." Sez he, "When she that wuz Arvilly Nash worked here I believe
we used a woodhouse full a day. If we had a floatin' woodhouse here,
we should had to embark on it once a day at least and load it up with
shavin's and kindlin' wood. Samantha is more eqinomical," sez he.

"But," sez Uncle Nate, "I hearn that Whitfield's folks wuz layin' out
to use a coal oil stove durin' the summer."

Josiah's face fell. "So they be," sez he.

But he wuz loath to give up this floatin' woodhouse and went on:

"How handy it would be for a picnic, jest fill the woodhouse full of
Highlariers and set off, baskets, bundles and all. It would do away
with parasols; no jabbin' 'em into a man's eyes, or proddin' his ears
with the pints of umbrells. Or on funeral occasions," sez he, "jest
load the mourners right in, onhitch the room and sail off. Why it
would be invaluable."

But Uncle Nate wuz more conservative and cautious. He sez, "What if it
should break loose in the night and start off by itself? It would be
a danger to the hull river. How would boats feel to meet a woodhouse?
It would jam right into 'em and sink 'em--sunk by a woodhouse! It
wouldn't sound well. And row boats would always be afraid of it,
they'd be thinkin' it would be liable to come onto 'em at any time
onbeknown to 'em, 'twouldn't have no whistle or anything."

"Yes it would," sez Josiah hautily; "I laid out to fix it somehow with
a whistle."

"But it couldn't whistle itself if it sot off alone."

"Well," sez Josiah, scratchin' his head, "I hain't got that idee quite
perfected, but I might have a self actin' whistle,