The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1886-03-12

to act.
1t became rapidly known that the two
old neighbors were not ION speaking
terms, and the causes and circumstances
Of the rupture were not a mystery. Poo
pie came on varying pretexts to look at the
fence from one side or the other, and hear
the story in detail. Often they went thence
over to the other side, and listened with in
terest to the complmental version. The
whole affair, perhaps, was welcomed as a
break in the monotony Of the general
amicablencss.
1t was known, too, that Mrs. Long and
Mrs. Talcott were not active participants
in the quarrel Til cir old pleasant COM
panionship seemed virtually ended: their
backyard intercourse was necessarily cut
off, and they had ceased to run in of an
evening. But this was because neither
felt free to enter her neighbours house, as
matters stood; and because, in their
timid womanly submissiveness, they
obeycd the unspoken commands of their
husbands rather than face the displeasure
which would have followed a defiance of
them.
They smiled when they met each other;
they fingered in the church vestibuIe to
exchange good-moning Once Mrs. Long
sent in dish of fresh .fried cakes by a
neighbours boy He told her that Mrs.
Talcott had burst out crying. She had
empticd the dish, and sent it back full of
apple sauce.
The autumn days filled the air with the
dim blue yapor and not unpleasant odor
OF bonfire smoke. Mr.. Talcott was late
with his. He had put it off till his fall
clearing was done-Lhe garden freed of the
dried and empty bean vines, and raked off;
the weeds pulled up which had nourished
or two and which now stood black and
frozen; few dead bushes cut down. and
the fruit trees trimmed here and there. 1t
was late in November when the pile lay
ready low down in the garden in a corner
of the plundered potato patch. In some
OF its rough hollows lay the remains Of a
thin snow.
Mr.. Talcott lighted it directly after sup
per- Now and then he replcnished it; at
S o clock it was still burning. He sat
down on an old stump to look at it as it
leaped and iliekered itself out. lightning
up broad space around it and shining on
tie high fence. His wife had come out
with shawl over her head and watched
it few minutes, and gone in.
a spark from the subsiding fire snapped
into a little pile of dried stalks half rod
distant, and they famed up. A twig took
fire from them and burned to its end and
a loose splinter blazed in its turn. He
watched the curious little line of light as
it ate its Pickering way along. There was
a small deposit of dead leaves drifted up
against the tall fence; they took the alarm
and glowed and cracked snartly. And
then the flames mounted up, and grew
broader and redder-the fence had caught
fire.
Mr. Talcott got up and walked over to if.
Then lie turned, with scarcely the haste
which might have been looked for. and
started FOR the pump. He seemed rather
to linger on the way; when he reached
it, he stood for ii moment without doing
anything in particular before he filed
wooden pail, which lay near, and went
back with it. The fence was flaming
but he stopped to pick ont chip
which had got stuck into the sole of his
boot, and tied the old wooden muller he
wore around his neck with hands which
were not quite steady. Then he peercd all
about him, in an oddly guilty way, emptied
his pail of water on the ground and went
and sat down on the stump again. lie
looked cold and cross and uneasy, and any
thing but heroic; but there was new
found warmth within him.
There was quite a crowd about the place
half an hour later, looking at the black
cned remains of the line fence-several
men, attracted by the flames, and few
women hastily wrapped up.
Mr.. Talcott had good deal to say about
the way it had happened He said a bon
fire was a plagued thing-you never knew
what it was going to do; you couldn't feel
safe with one if you didn't watch it every
minute. He dwelt on the ineilicacy of
water when once a fire had got started, and
polluted TO the empty pail, where it lay on
the ground. in conclusive proof of that
point.
Mr.. Long had come out and watched the
from discreet distance
But he had drawn gradually closer, till he
finally stood poking over the warm cinders
with one foot Mr.. Talcott stood near by
they did not look at each other for mo-
mcnt Then the latter spoke, in a voice
made high and sharp by the greatness of
its effort.
went down Jest like paper he said.
Il guess there couldn't anybody a'stopped
it. couldn't do anything against it.
nothing at ALL" He felt that he regained
by this some of the dignity he had lost in
his own conception. He looked relieved
His neighbor did not reply dire,tly.
The darkness hid his softened perturbed
expression, and he was not the person to
make it manifest His tone, when he
spoke, was composed and even condo