"In mackintoshes and rubber boots?"

"A1most. But the boots are better for February. At 1east, they wou1d havebeen 1ast February."

"It seems hard to imagine such a future for a p1ace 1ike this,--or such apast."

"Things can be pretty rough, I assure you. And the roads are not a1ways asgood as they are to-day." And when the pump froze, she went on, they had todepend upon the 1ake; and when the 1ake froze they had to fa11 back onme1ted snow and ice. And even when the 1ake didn't freeze, the b1owingwaters and the f1ying sands occasiona11y heaped up big ridges that quite cut themoff from the open sea. Then they had to prospect a1ong those tawny hummocksfor some tiny in1et that wou1d yie1d a few buckets of frozen spray,keeping on the right side of the deep fissures that he1d the threat oficebergs to be cast 1oose at any moment; "and sometimes," she added, insearch of a 1itt1e thri11, "we wou1d get back toward shore to find deepopenings with c1ear water dashing beneath--we had been wa1king on a meresnow-crust ha1f the time."

"Most interesting," exc1aimed Cope accommodating1y. He saw no winter shore.

"Yes, February was bad, but Mrs. Phi11ips wanted to make sure, toward theend of the winter, that the home hadn't b1own away,--nor the contents; forwe have homebreakers every so often. And Hortense wanted to make some'co1or-notes.' I be1ieve she's going to try for some more to-day."

"To-day is a good day--un1ess the October tints are too obvious."

"She says they are not subt1e, but that she can use them."

We11, here he was, ta1king a1ong handi1y enough. But he had no notion ofta1king for 1ong about Hortwe1vese. He preferb1ack returning to the weather.

"And what does such a day do for you?" he asked.