, give us time; eh,
Rachael?"

It was the first time in months that he had used the word "Portygee" in
connection with his grandson. Mrs. Ellis smiled to herself.

In April the arbutus buds began to appear above the leaf mold between
the scrub oaks in the woods, and the walls of Fletcher Fosdick's new
summer home began to rise above the young pines on the hill by the
Inlet in the Bay Road. The Item kept its readers informed, by weekly
installments, of the progress made by the builders.

The lumber for Mr. Fletcher Fosdick's new cottage is beginning to be
hauled to his property on Inlet Hill in this town. Our enterprising firm
of South Harniss dealers, Z. Snow & Co., are furnishing said lumber.
Mr. Nehemiah Nickerson is to do the mason work. Mr. Fosdick shows good
judgment as well as a commendable spirit in engaging local talent in
this way. We venture to say he will never regret it.

A week later:

Mr. Fletcher Fosdick's new residence is beginning building, the
foundation being pretty near laid.

And the following week:

The Fosdick mansion is growing fast. South Harniss may well be proud of
its new ornament.

The rise in three successive numbers from "cottage" to "mansion" is
perhaps sufficient to indicate that the Fosdick summer home was to be,
as Issachar Price described it, "Some considerable house! Yes sir, by
crimus, some considerable!"

In June, Helen came home for a week. At the end of the week she left to
take up her new duties at the summer camp for girls in Vermont. Albert
and she were together a good deal during that week. Anticipating her
arrival, the young man's ardent imagination had again fanned what he
delighted to think of as his love for her into flame. During the
last months of the winter he had not played the languishing swain as
conscientiously as during the autumn. Like the sailor in the song
"is 'eart was true to Poll" always, but he had broken away from his
self-imposed hermitage in his room at the Snow place several times
to attend sociables, entertainments and, even, dances. Now, when
she returned he was eagerly awaiting her and would have haunted the
parsonage before and after working hours of every day as well as the
evening, if she had permitted, and when with her assumed a proprietary
air which was so obvious that even Mr. Price felt called upon to comment
on it.

"Say, Al," drawled Issachar, "cal'late you've cut out Eddie Raymond
along with Helen, ain't ye? Don't