we came into possession of the property we did not interfere with the
custom. Land along the shore was worth precious little at that time and,
besides, it was pleasant, rather than disagreeable, to hear the fish
carts going out to the weirs, and the wagons coming to the beach for
seaweed, or, filled with picnic parties, rattling down the Lane. We
could not see them from the house until they had passed the grove and
emerged upon the beach, but even the noise of them was welcome. The
Paine Place was a good half-mile from the Lower Road and there were few
neighbors; therefore, especially in the winter months, any sounds of
society were comforting.

I strode through the grove, kicking the dead branches out of my way, for
my mind was still busy with Luther and Captain Dean. As I came out into
the Lane I looked across at the Atwater mansion, now the property of the
great and only Colton, "Big Jim" Colton, whose deals and corners in Wall
Street supplied so many and such varied sensations for the financial
pages of the city papers, just as those of his wife and family supplied
news for the society columns; I looked across, I say, and then I stopped
short to take a longer look.

I could see the carpenters, whose hammers I had heard, at work upon the
roof of the barn, now destined to do double duty as a stable and garage.
They, and the painters and plumbers, had been busy on the premises for
months. The establishment had been a big one, even when Major Atwater
owned it, but the new owners had torn down and added and rebuilt until
the house loomed up like a palace or a Newport villa. A Newport villa
in Denboro! Why on earth any one should deliberately choose Denboro as a
place to live in I couldn't understand; but why a millionaire, with
all creation to select from, should build a Newport villa on the bluff
overlooking Denboro Bay was beyond comprehension. The reason given in