The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-10-24

ness, and thanked him humDly,
At the house we found awaiting a
strengthening man, small
wrinkled. unkempt, with nose OF
a decidedly brighter hue than the
rest of hts countenance. He was
tapping at the stills of the house.
How about 1t, Hard? Co
ment?" said Bert.
Hard Cider nodded to me. with
a keen glance from his little
Iblood-shot eyes.
"Yep." he said. "Stucco over it
Brick underpinnin's be as good e2
moo. Go inside"
Hard Cider began on the kitch-
en- floor, ripping up plank to ex.
anime the timbers beneath. They
were huge beams of hand-hewn
|oak.
"Plane them planks down and
lay maple floor over EN-" said
Hard, with an air Of finality.
VERY WE'LL" said meekly
But my woodwork has got to be
cypress in the living-room."
New step" he added, as we
came to the door up into the main
house.
"Hold ont" said I. "This door
leads into the front hall. ! don't
want that, I want this door closed
up and put into the north room
which I'm going to use for din
ing ROOM"
"Ain't goin' ter eat in the
kitchen, eh?" Very WE'LL" said
Hard. He jotted something in a
dirty notebook.
We found that the north room
had apparently been used only as
kind of storage closet. 1t had
never been papered, and the walls.
with little touching up, were
ready for kalsomining. Hard ex-
amined the plaster with the loving
eye of a connoisseur.
Built ter last in them days
heard him mutter.
The room extended half the
depth of the house. Beyond 1t was
a second room of the same size.
We now crossed the hall to the
south side. where there were two
corresponding rooms. Here, as on
the other side, the chimneys and
/ fireplaces were on the inside
walls, and the nantes we're of a
simple but very good colonial pat
tern.
Now I want these two rooms
made into one," said l. 81 want
one of the doors into the hall
closed up. and a glass door cut out
of the south side to a pergola
veranda. Can you do it,"
Hard examined the partition.
Yep" he said finally, "ef yer
don't mind big cross-beam
shown. She's solid oak. Hev ter
alter yer chimney" he added, "or
|yer'll hev two fireplaces."
"Fine!" cried /. "A long room
with two fireplaces, and a double
faced bookcase coming out at
right angles between them, with
two settles below it, one for each
fireplace! Better than I'd
dreamed"
Suit yerself," said Hard.
We next arranged tentatively
for a brick veranda with a pergola
top on the southern end of the
house, and then went upstairs
Here the four small chambers
needed little repair save that over
the dining room, which was to be
converted into the bathroom.
The great space over the
kitchen was to be cut into two
servants bedrooms. Hard led us
SILENTLY downstairs again, and
through the front door.
My front doorway had once
been a thing of beauty, with two
little panel windows at the sides
and above all, on the outside, a
heavy, hand-carved broken pedi-
ment, like the top of Governor
Winthrop highboy. Hard looked
at it with admiration cleaning in
his eyes.
I'D rather restore this than all
the rest o. the job" he said, and
his ugly, rumsoaked little face
positively shone with enthusiasm
Go ahead" said I; "only |
want the new steps of brick, wide.
Ily spaced, with a lot of cement
showing between. I'm going to
terrace it here in front, too-a
grass terrace for 10 feet out"
"Thet's right, thet's right" he
exclaimed. Now I'll 60 order the
lumber, an bring yer the estimate
Itermorrer."
Seems to be the usual pro-
ceeding would be the other way
around!" I gasped.
well, yer want me ter do the
job, don't yer?" he said brusque.
lily.
'Of course, of course!"
amended hastily. Go ahead"
4 Hard climbed into a broken.
down wagon and disappeared
Don't you worry" said Bert. "Pl
see he treats yer right"
1T isn't that" said sadly
Its that I've Just remembered
forgot to include any painters
bills in my own estimate"
i Bert looked at me In kind Of
speechless pity for moment
Then he said slowly: wal, II
be swizzled! Wait till I tell nav
An her always stickin' up fer {
college education!"