" and thereupon a good portion of black-looking tobacco was cut and
made fine in each of the hard left hands, and presently the clay pipes
were touched off with a live coal, and great clouds of smoke might
have been seen to disappear under the edge of the fire-place, drawn
quickly up the chimney by the draft of the blazing fire.

Jacob pushed back his chair another foot or two, and Martin soon
followed, mentioning that it was getting hot, but it was well to keep
out the damp.

"What set the women out to go traipsin' up to Thacher's folks?"
inquired Jacob, holding his cider mug with one hand and drumming it
with the finger ends of the other.

"I had an idee that they wanted to find out if anything had been heard
about Ad'line's getting home for Thanksgiving," answered Martin,
turning to look shrewdly at his brother. "Women folks does suffer if
there's anything goin' on they can't find out about. 'Liza said she
was going to invite Mis' Thacher and John to eat a piece o' our big
turkey, but she didn't s'pose they'd want to leave. Curi's about
Ad'line, ain't it? I expected when her husband died she'd be right
back here with what she'd got; at any rate, till she'd raised the
child to some size. There'd be no expense here to what she'd have
elsewhere, and here's her ma'am beginnin' to age. She can't do what
she used to, John was tellin' of me; and I don't doubt 't 'as worn
upon her more'n folks thinks."

"I don't lay no great belief that John'll get home from court," said
Jacob Dyer. "They say that court's goin' to set till Christmas maybe;
there's an awful string o' cases on the docket. Oh, 't was you told
me, wa'n't it? Most like they'll let up for a couple o' days for
Thanksgivin', but John mightn't think't was wuth his while to travel
here and back again 'less he had something to do before winter shets
down. Perhaps they'll prevail upon the old lady, I wish they would,
I'm sure; but an only daughter forsakin' her so, 'twas most too bad of
Ad'line. She al'ays had dreadful high notions when she wa'n't no
more'n a baby; and, good conscience, how she liked to rig up when she
first used to come back from Lowell! Better ha' put her money out to
interest."

"I believe in young folks makin' all they can o' theirselves,"
announced Martin, puffing hard at his pipe and drawing a little
farther still from the fireplace, because the scorching red coals had
begun to drop beneath the forestick. "I've give my child'n the best
push