wife likes it for cooking," said the young man. "We have a
fancy brand for the table."

The woman laughed out her delight in his pleasantry. "Land! I'll bet you
grumble at it, too!" she said, with a precipitate advance in intimacy
which he did not disallow.

"Well, I'm pretty particular," said the young man. "But I _have_ to be,
to find anything to find fault with in the way _my_ wife manages. I
don't suppose I shall be able to get much more Northwick butter, now."

"Why not?"

"Why, if he was killed in that accident--"

"Oh, I guess there ain't anything to that," said the woman. "I guess it
was some other Northwick. Their coachman--Elbridge Newton--was tellin'
my husband that Mr. Northwick had stopped over at Springfield to look at
some hosses there. He's always buyin' more hosses. I guess he must have
as much as eighty or ninety hosses now. I don't place any dependence on
that report."

"That so?" said the young man. "Why, what did that fellow mean, over at
the drug store, just now, by his getting out for Canada?"

"What fellow?"

"Little slim chap, with a big black moustache, and blue eyes, blue and
blazing, as you may say."

"Oh,--Mr. Putney! That's just one of his jokes. He's always down on Mr.
Northwick."

"Then I suppose he's just gone up to Ponkwasset about the trouble
there."

"Labor trouble?"

"I guess so."

The woman called toward an open door at the end of the room, "William!"
and a man in his shirt sleeves showed himself. "You heard of any labor
trouble to Mr. Northwick's mills?"

"No, I don't believe there is any," said the man. He came forward
inquiringly to the table where his wife was standing by the _Events_'
young man.

"Well, I'm sorry," said the young man, "but it shows that I haven't lost
so much in missing Mr. Northwick, after all. I came up here from Boston
to interview him for our paper about the labor troubles."

"I want to know!" said the hostess. "You an editor?"

"Well, I'm a reporter--same thing," the young man answered. "Perhaps
you've got some troubles of your own here in your shops?"

"No," said the host, "I guess everybody's pretty well satisfied here in
Hatboro'." He was tempted to talk by the air of confidence which the
_Events_' young man somehow diffused about him, but his native Yankee
caution prevailed, and he did not take the lead offered him.

"Well," said the young man, "I noticed one of your citizens over at the
drug store that seemed to be pretty ha