tiff as to render it nearly impossible to force the dasher
through it; and we would lift the entire churn from the floor in our
efforts to work it up and down. At such times our toes suffered, and we
were wont to call loudly for Theodora and Ellen to come and hold the
churn down, a task that they undertook with misgivings.

What exasperated us always was the superb calmness with which
grandmother Ruth viewed those struggles, going placidly on with her
other duties as if our woes were all in the natural order of the
universe. The butter, eggs and poultry were her perquisites in the
matter of farm products, and we were apt to accuse her of
hard-heartedness in her desire to make them yield income.

Addison, I remember, had a prop that he inserted and drove tight with a
mallet between a beam overhead and the top of the churn when the cream
"swelled"; but neither Halstead nor I was ever able to adjust the prop
skillfully enough to keep it from falling down on our heads.

And we suspected Addison of pouring warm water into the churn when
grandmother's back was turned, though we never actually caught him at
it. Sometimes when he churned, the butter "came" suspiciously soft, to
grandmother's great dissatisfaction, since she had special customers for
her butter at the village and was proud of its uniform quality.

With the kindly aid of the girls, especially Ellen, I usually got
through my turn after a fashion. I was crafty enough to keep their
sympathy and good offices enlisted on my side.

But poor Halstead! There was pretty sure to be a rumpus every time his
turn came. Nature, indeed, had but poorly fitted him for churning, or,
in fact, for any form of domestic labor that required sustained effort
and patience. He had a kind heart; but his temper was stormy. When
informed that his turn had come to churn, he almost always disputed it
hotly. Afterwards he was likely to fume a while and finally go about the
task in so sullen a mood that the girls were much inclined to leave him
to his own devices. Looking back at our youthful days, I see plainly now
that we were often uncharitable toward Halstead. He was, I must admit, a
rather difficult boy to get on with, hasty of temper and inclined to act
recklessly. There were no doubt physical causes for those defects; but
Addison and I thought he might do better if he pleased. He and Addison
were about the same age, and I was two and a half years younger.
Halstead, in fact, was slight