a good tight box that'll turn water. I some-
times wonder if there'll be anybody about to
do it for me. However, I'm not at all particu-
lar that way."

All afternoon, wherever one went in the
house, one could hear the panting wheeze of
the saw or the pleasant purring of the plane.
They were such cheerful noises, seeming to
promise new things for living people: it was a
pity that those freshly planed pine boards
were to be put underground so soon. The
lumber was hard to work because it was full
of frost, and the boards gave off a sweet
smell of pine woods, as the heap of yellow
shavings grew higher and higher. I wondered
why Fuchs had not stuck to cabinet-work, he
settled down to it with such ease and content.
He handled the tools as if he liked the feel
of them; and when he planed, his hands went
back and forth over the boards in an eager,
beneficent way as if he were blessing them.
He broke out now and then into German
hymns, as if this occupation brought back
old times to him.

At four o'clock Mr. Bushy, the postmaster,
with another neighbor who lived east of us,
stopped in to get warm. They were on their

[[125]]

p124 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p125w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p126

v?