The local building genius repainted the aged house after bay window and

gingerbread had been stripped from its otherwise dignified facade;

replaced broken slates on the roof, mended the great fat chimneys,

matched the traces of pale bluish-green that remained on the window

shutters, filled in the sashes with small, square panes, instituted

modern plumbing, drainage, sewage, and electric lights--all of which was

emergency work and not too difficult as the city improvements had now

been extended as far as the village a mile to the eastward. But it was

expensive.

At first Clive had decided to leave the interior to Athalie, but he

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finally made up his mind to restore the place on its original lines

with the exception of her mother's room. This room he recognised from

her frequent description of it; and he locked it, pocketed the key,

and turned loose his men.

All that they did was to plaster where it was needed, re-kalsomine all

walls and ceilings, scrape, clean, mend, and re-enamel the ancient

woodwork. Trim, casings, wainscot, and stairs were restored to their

original design and finish; dark hardwood floors replaced the painted

boards which had rotted; wherever a scrap of early wall-paper remained

he matched it as closely as possible, having an expert from New York

to do the business; and the fixtures he chose were simple and graceful

and reflected the period as nearly as electric light fixtures can

simulate an era of candle-sticks and tallow dips.

He was tremendously tempted to go ahead, so fascinating had the work

become to him, but he realised that it was not fair to Athalie. All

that he could reasonably do he had done; the place was clean and

fresh, and restored to its original condition outside and in, except

for the modern necessities of lighting, heating, plumbing, and running

water in pantry, laundry, kitchen, and bathrooms. Two of the latter

had replaced two clothes-presses; the ancient cellar had been cemented

and whitewashed, and heavily stocked with furnace and kitchen coal and

kindling.

Also there were fire-dogs for the three fine old-fashioned fireplaces

in the house which had been disinterred from under bricked-in and

plastered surfaces where only the aged mantel shelves and a hole for a

stove pipe revealed their probable presence.

The carpets were too ragged and soiled to retain; the furniture too

awful. But he replaced the latter, leaving its disposition and the

pleasure of choosing new furniture and new floor coverings to Athalie.

Hers also was to be the pleasure of re-stocking the house with linen;

of selecting upholstery and curtains and the requisites for pantry,

kitchen, and dining-room.

Once she told him what she had meant to do with the bar. And he took

the liberty of doing it, turning the place into a charming

sun-parlour, where, in a stone basin, gold-fish swam and a forest of

feathery and flowering semi-tropical plants spread a fretwork of blue

shadows over the cool stone floor.




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