The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-14
(Continued.)
 ". THE HOUSE AND ITS INHABI- TIA NTS
(Continued.)

l ed, as old John Altenburg. About ten years before he had appeareds unher- aided and bought for cash the old Jeff ferson place, which had been in the
 market for several years. But. dilapi- dated as it was, he did little to it be- ryond making it watertight and, to that extent. habitable. Then. when all
 Lanceboro had settled it that he was
 a crotchety, penurious old bachelor. a,
 wife appeared, yet so little a wife was she that she had no part even in the
 hiring of the deaf old woman who still remained the one servant in the house.
 At that time A1tenburg seemed a man of about sixty, while his wife would have been rated as at least fif- teen years younger, had it not been for her haggard, wearied face, which sorrow, more than years, seemed to have marked. It was not long before the gossip
 ing, watching village found out that
 however little of wifehood was implied in the manner in which the household was set in motion, there was yet less in the household life itself. Altenburg was known to occupy the rooms near est the kitchen extension, while those beyond the great chimney and the en- tryway were occupied by Mrs. A1ten- burg. It was reported that they met only at mealtime and when, on winter
 evenings, before the early bedtime, they sat together in the kitchen to
 save the cost of fires in the main part
 of the house. It was also said that a
 that the wife seemed to live in con-
 stant fear of her husband.
 A few women, moved by friendly
 sympathy for the stranger, and many others under the impulse of curiosity,
 ventured the experiment of calling,
 but none ever repeated it. for in the few instances in which Mrs. A1tenburg
 did not excuse herself from seeing
 them, her manner was so cold and constrained as. when taken in connec
 tion with her failure to return the courtesy. to drive the boldest from further experimenting. Yet. there were some who ventured the assertion that the woman was, apparently. furnishing for human companionship, and by these, at least, her refusal of their advances was charged as an added marital sin to the husband.
 No one could say when first it was discovered that there was a daughter connected with the family. Just what her place was no two were quite agreed. but there was a set toward the Belief that she was a daughter of Mrs. Altenburg by former marriage. that she was at school somewhere and that she was anything but favorite with Ter stepfather, though this last was a conclusion drawn from the premise that a young lady in the fam fly would be looked on as an expen- sive luxury by an cid skinf1int' such as he was held to be. The sum of all real knowledge was that she was about ten years old at the time of her first coming, that she was generally at the farm for 9 few weeks in sum- mer. when she practically lived in her mothers rooms. and that her Christian name was Judith. She was tall for her supposed age and rather dark. but beyond that all assumed knowledge verged on guesswork.
 Five years after Altenburg's arrival youth Of about twenty came to Lanceboro and the farm. His inquir- ies attracted attention. and those who saw him declared his close, resembl ance to Altenburg. The general be- lief was that he was Altenburg's own son. but if that were the case. in addi- tion to establishing a former marriage of the husband as well as the wife, it added new complications to the af- fairs of the family, for curiosity mongers asserted that he was not al-
 
 hinted that his visit was the occasion of an extremely bitter quarrel between husband and wife. He returned to the station on foot. but before the hour for the train to leave he was joined by the girl, now some fifteen years of age, who persuaded him to go to the Lanceboro House, where he re- mained for three or four days. The village learned within five minutes after the event that he registered as Horace Calden. During his stay the girl was frequently seen walking with him in lonely roads or through wood paths. but it was asserted that he did not again visit the farm or meet any other member of the family.
 The name puzzled the members of the Society for Attending to Other PeOple'S Business, put It nnally evolved the ingenious theory that Calden was the lads middle name.' which he had determined to use from indigna- tion at his fathers unkindness. This, at least, served the excellent purpose of saving the girl criticism because of her lonely walks with the young man, whose assumed stepbrotherhood pre- served the proprieties.
 II was not known that the lad had ever again visited Lanceboro. but it was asserted that more than once he i had been met late at night on the | Plains road, coming from the direc- | tion of the AItenburg farm. One close observer. whose keenness for what | ever was none of his business had of l ten proved a bright and shining light l to fellow craftsmen, averred that one | night, seeing a light in Mrs. Alten- | burg's part of the house at an un- 1 usual hour, he had crept close, under favor of a clump of bushes. and about midnight was rewarded by seeing | young Calden climb out of side win dow. Mrs. Altenburg and Judith kiss