dragged in by a horse, who drew them
right up to the wide stone hearth. But we did not use Lord Beaconsfield
for this work. For one thing, he would have been too big to get through
the door; besides, we were strong, and liked the job. We had two pairs
of ice-tongs, and we would put on our rubber boots, and take the tongs,
and go out into the snow, and fasten to a log--one at each end--and drag
it across Captain Ben's iron door-sill, and lift it in and swing it
across the stout andirons with a skill that improved with each day's
practice. They were good, lusty sticks--some of them nearly two feet
through. These were the back-logs, and they would last two or three
days, buried in the ashes, breaking at last into a mass of splendid
coals.

In New England one builds a fire scientifically, if he expects to keep
warm by it. There must be a fore-stick and a back-stick, and a pyramid
of other sticks, with proper draught below and flame outlets above. And
he must not spare fuel--not if he expects heat. Westbury dropped in one
afternoon just when we had completed a masterpiece in fire-building. He
went up to warm his hands and regarded the blazing heap of hickory with
critical appraisal.

"That fire cost you two dollars," he remarked, probably recalling the
number of days it had taken Old Pop and Sam to cut and cord the big
hickory across the brook.

"It's worth it," I said. "I've paid many a two dollars for luxuries that
weren't worth five minutes of this."

Westbury dropped into a comfortable chair, took out his knife, and
picked up a piece of pine kindling.

"You think this beats city life?" he observed, whittling slowly.

"Well, that depends on what you want. If you like noise and action, the
city's the place. We once lived in a flat where there was a piano at
one end of the hall and two phonographs at the other. Then there was a
man across the air-shaft who practised on the clarinet, and a
professional singer up-stairs. Besides this, when the season was right,
we had a hand-organ concert every few minutes on the street. When
everything was going at once it was quite a combination. The trolley in
front and the Elevated railway behind helped out, too, besides the
automobiles, and the newsboys and more or less babies that were trying
to do their part. Some people would be lonesome without those things, I
suppose."

Westbury whittled reflectively.

"I like to be where it's busy," he commented, "but I guess a fellow
co