y them or the young lady's
parents.

Uncle Ike Pettengill had been a successful business man in Boston, but
at the age of sixty had wearied of city life, and decided to spend the
rest of his days in the country. Despite the objections of his wife and
two grown up daughters, he sold out his business, conveyed two-thirds of
his property to his wife and children, and invested the remaining third
in an annuity, which gave him sufficient income for a comfortable
support. He did not live at the Pettengill house, but in a little
two-roomed cottage or cabin that he had had built for him on the lower
road, about halfway between Mason's Corner and Eastborough Centre. A
short distance beyond his little house, a crossroad, not very often
used, connected the upper and lower roads. Uncle Ike had a fair-sized
library, read magazines and weekly papers, but never looked at a daily
newspaper. His only companions were about two hundred hens and chickens
and a big St. Bernard dog which he had named "Swiss," after his native
land.

The other residents of the Pettengill homestead were two young men named
Jim and Bill Cobb, who aided Ezekiel in his farm work, and Mandy
Skinner, the "help," who was in reality the housekeeper of the
establishment. Jim and Bill Cobb were orphans, Jim being about
twenty-one and Bill three years older. When young they resembled each
other very closely, for this reason they had been nicknamed "Cobb's
Twins," and the name had clung to them, even after they had reached
manhood.

Mandy Skinner was about twenty-three, and was the only child of Malachi
and Martha Skinner. Her father was dead, but her mother had married
again and was now Mrs. Jonas Hawkins, the proprietor of Mrs. Hawkins's
boarding house, which was situated in the square opposite Hill's
grocery, and about a quarter of a mile from the top of Mason's Hill.
Mandy had a double burden upon her shoulders. One was the care of such a
large house and family, and the other was the constant necessity of
repelling the lover-like hints and suggestions of Hiram Maxwell, who was
always ready and willing to overlook his work at Deacon Mason's so that
he could run down and see if Mandy wanted him to do anything for her.

Hill's grocery was owned and carried on by Benoni Hill and his son
Samuel. Their residence was on the easterly edge of the town, being next
to the one occupied by old Ben James, who was a widower with one
daughter, Miss Matilda James.

About a qua