Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1921-10-27
PART ONE
+

BY the end Of October, with the dis
persal Of that foliage which has served
all summer long as pleasant screen
for whatever small privacy may exist
between American neighbors, we begin
to get our autumn high tides of Cos
sip. At this season of the year, in our
towns of moderate size and ambition,
where apartment houses have not yet
condensed and at the same time
sequeStered the population, one may
secure visual command of back yard
beyond back yard, both up and down
the street; especially if one takes the
trouble to sit for an hour or so, daily,
upon the top Of a high board fence at
about the middle of block.
OF course an adult who followed
such a course would be thought Pc
culiar; no doubt he would be subject
to undesirable comment, and presently
might be called upon to parry severe
If, indeed. not hostile inquiries; but
boys are considered so ineXpIicable
that they have gathered for them
selves any privileges denied their
parents and elders; and boy can do
such a thing as this to his full content,
without anybodys thinking about it at
ALL SO it was that Herbert Illings-
worth Atwater, Jr., aged thirteen and
a few months. sat for considerable
time upon such fence, after school
hours. every afternoon of the last week
in October; and only one person par
ticularly observed him or was stimu-
lated to any mental activity by his
procedure. Even at that, this person
was affected only because she was
Herbert's relative, and of an age sym
pathetic to hs-and of sex antipa-
thetic.
In spite Of the fact that Herbert H.
lingswOrth Atwater, Jr., thus seriously
disporting himself on his fathers back
fence. attracted only this audience Of
one (and she hostile at a rather dis
tant window his behavior really
should have been considered piquant-
ly interesting by anybody. After climb
ing to the top of the fence he would
produce from interior pockets a small
memorandum book and pencil; sell
dom putting these implements to I'M
mediate use. His expression was
gravely alert, his manner more thar
busInesslike yet nobody could have
failed to comprehend that he was en-
1oying himself, especially when his at
titude became tense-as at times 1t
certainly did Then he would rise, bal
ancing himself at adrOit ease, his feet
aligned one before the other on the
inner rail, foot below the top Of the
boards, and with eyes dramatically
shielded beneath q scoutish palm, he
would gaze sternly in the direction Of
some object or motion which had at
tracted his attention; and then, having
satisfied himself of something or other,
he would sit again and decisively en-
ter note in his memorandum book.
He was not always alone; he was
frequently joined by a friend, male,
and, though shorter than Herbert,
quite as DID, and this companion was
inspired, it seemed, by motives pre-
cisely similar to those from which
sprang Herbert's own actions. Like
Herbert. he would sit upon the top of
the high fence, usually at little dis
lance from him; like Herbert he
would rise at intervals, for the better
study of something this side of the
horizon; then, also concluding like
Herbert, he would sit again and write
firmly in a little notebook And sell
dom In the history Of the world have
any sessions been invested by the par
Elephants with so intentional an ap.
pearance of importance.
That was what most injured their
lone observer at the somewhat distant
back window, upstairs at her own
place Of residence; she found their i'm
portance almost impossible to bear
without screaming. Her provocatior
was great; the important importance
of Herbert and his friend, impressive
~ maneuvering upon their fence, was
so extreme as to be all too plainly Wis
ibIe across four intervening broad
back yards; in fact, there was almos
reason to suspect that the two per
formers were aware Of their audience
and even of her goaded condition; anC
that they sometimes deliberately in
creased the outrageousness Of thelI
importance because they knew she
was watching them. And upon thu
Saturday Of that week, when the note
book writer's were upon the fence a
intervals throughout the afternoon
Florence Atwater's fascinated indigna
ton became vocal.
"vile things" she said.
Her mother. sewing beside anothe