_The thought of going back to "six rooms and improvements"_
Peace of mind is a fleeting thing. We began to be harassed with
uncertainty--to suffer with indecision. In buying the old house we had
not at first considered making it a year-round residence, but merely a
place to put some appropriate furnishings, the things we cared for most,
so that we might have them the best part of the year--from April, say,
to Thanksgiving. It had not occurred to us that we would cut loose
altogether from the town--dynamite our bridges, as it were--and become a
part and parcel of Brook Ridge.
Every day, neighbors stopped to make our acquaintance and learn our
plans. We interested them, for we were the first new-comers for many a
year to that neglected corner of the township. They were the kindest
people in the world, moved, perhaps, less by curiosity than by concern
for our comfort and happiness. They generally wanted to know how we
liked our place, what changes we were going to make in it, and they
never failed to ask if we intended to make it our home or merely a place
for summer-time.
Our replies to the last question, at first definite, became vague and
qualified, then again definite, for we admitted that we did not know. As
a matter of fact, the place was getting hold of us, possessing us,
surrounding us on all sides with its fascinations. It was just an old
house, a few broken acres, and a brook--just some old lumber and stones,
some ordinary trees, some every-day water--not much, perhaps, to get
excited over or to change one's scheme of life. Yet we did get excited
over it, daily, and it had suddenly become a main factor in our problem
of life. The thought of going back to "six rooms and improvements," with
clanging bells and crashing wheels, and with an expanse of dingy roofs
for scenery, became daily less attractive. True, we would have to spend
a good deal more money on the old house to fit it for cold weather, but
then there would be the saving in rent.
We began to discuss the matter--quietly, even casually, at first--then
feverishly, positively. We were not always on the same side, and there
were moments when a stranger might have thought our relations slightly
strained. But this would have been to misjudge our method. We are seldom
really violent in argument--though occasionally intense. Besides, we
were too much of a mind, now, for real disagreement. We both yearned too
deeply to set the old house in complete order, to establish ourselves in
it exclusively and live there for ever and ever. Think of Christmas in
it, we said, with the great open fires, the snow outside, and a
Christmas tree brought in from our own woods!
I said at last that I would make a trip to town, go to the flat, and
ship up a few articles for present use. It would be rather more than a
month until our lease expired, and in that time we could decide
something. I secretly intended to send up a number of vital things that
would make return difficult and costly. I was not going to blow up our
entire bridge--I was only going to remove one or two of its necessary
arches.
That was what I did. I went in one morning and packed a barrel or two of
important queensware and utensils and a bale of bedding, without which
even the best flat becomes a snare and a mockery. When I had seen it in
the hands of the expressman I had a feeling that our pretty apartment
was no longer home.
I went over to my club for luncheon. A number of my friends were there,
and I seized an auspicious moment to announce my purchase and to exhibit
a bunch of photographs. They were good fellows who showed a proper
interest. Some of them already owned farms--some had farms in prospect.
The artists among them agreed that the old house was a pretty fair
example of its period and began advising me what to do with it. But, as
they did not agree among themselves, the net result was not valuable.
Somebody asked what I was going to plant.
'Rye,' I said.
For some reason everybody laughed.
"All rye? What's the matter with planting a little Scotch?"
It was not much of a joke, but they seemed to enjoy it. They were good
fellows, as I have said, but I fear rather light-minded.
When I got back to Brook Ridge and confessed, Elizabeth did not seem
surprised. In fact, it was as if I had been merely obeying orders. If
there was any further question as to what we were going to do, I do not
recall it. Our landlord in town was notified, our farmer-carpenter was
consulted as to further alterations. We had definitely cast our fortunes
with Brook Ridge.