ckling from her nest in a remote part of
the mow.

"Perhaps I could use these rods," mused he, "but then the boys could
make more noise than ever and that would hardly do."

Just then his face seemed to be illuminated by an inspiration. His eyes
twinkled with fun. But his reflections were interrupted by a call to
supper. Tea time was occupied in the discussion of family matters and
his aunt related bits of private history that kept his attention well
occupied until eight o'clock, at which time Miss Elizabeth usually
retired for the night. Jem was tired too, and was soon up-stairs and
fast asleep.

It seemed hardly anytime at all ere Jem was in the barn again ready to
begin work on the fence. He had now a clear idea regarding it and,
smiling often, he worked with a will. First, he sorted the pieces of rod
into piles according to length. If took some little time to accomplish
this part of his task. Then, humming to himself as he worked, he would,
both listening and humming as he did it, strike each piece with a stick
to determine its suitability. If so, it was placed on some one of eight
piles which he had labelled with brown paper as "A," "B," and so on. If
not it was thrown back to the corner.

The next thing he did was to set two posts at each end of the proposed
line, with fifteen others at regular intervals between. Across the tops
he secured his principal rail, with another to correspond a few inches
from the ground. Boring holes through these cross rails he inserted one
of the iron bars, letting it project six inches at the top and resting
the bottom on a stake driven into the ground directly beneath it. The
next bar was shorter than the first and a longer stake had to be driven
in order that the top should be on a level with the first. As he went
on, the rods were inserted without any seeming regularity of spacing.
Passers-by stopped to gaze at the singular construction and made various
comments concerning it.

[Illustration: THE NEIGHBORS LOOKED ON IN BEWILDERMENT.]

"That's a kinder queer pattern for a fence, ain't it?" queried a lad
who came along. "Here's a mistake, anyhow," said he, pointing to a space
between the fourteenth and fifteenth bars, which was twice as great as
any interval before. "Left one out, here. Or be ye going to leave this
cat hole for dogs to git through?"

"That's to make boys ask questions," was the only reply vouchsafed.

One old farmer advised him to "put all the bars of one l