Hawkins House."

As Ellis Smith reined up, the front door was opened and Mrs. Hawkins
came out to meet her guests. "I got your letter, an' I know'd it was
you. How be ye both? Seems like old times. Come right in the parlour.
I've got the curtains down so as to keep it cool," and the delighted
woman led the way into the house. In the hallway, she screamed,
"Jonas! Jonas! Hurry up and pick those chickens. Guv'nor Sawyer and
Alice are here."




CHAPTER IV

THE HAWKINS HOUSE


The converting of Mrs. Hawkins' boarding house into a hotel had been
due to two causes: First, the thrift and economy of the lady herself,
which had enabled her to put by a good sum in the bank. This she
expended in building an ell with extra sleeping rooms, painting the
structure cream colour with brown trimmings, and replacing old
furniture with that of modern make. This latter, she confessed within
a year, was a great mistake, for the new chairs became rickety, the
castors would not hold in the bed posts, the bureau drawers became
unmanageable, and the rooms, as she expressed it, had a "second-hand"
appearance. Then it was that the old mahogany furniture, that had
been relegated to the attic, was brought down, furbished up, and
restored to its original place. When Quincy entered the room which he