CHAPTER XXVIII 



DISCOUNTING THE MABKET 



WE broke ground for the house late in May, 

 and Nelson said that we should be in it by 

 Thanksgiving Day. Soon after the plans were 

 settled Polly informed me that she should not 

 spend much money on the stable. 



" Can't do it," she said, " and do what I ought 

 to on the house. I will give you room for six 

 horses ; the rest, if you have more, must go to 

 the farm barn. I cannot spend more than 11100 

 or 11200 on the barn." 



Polly was boss of this department, and I was 

 content to let her have her way. She had already 

 mulcted me to the extent of $436 for trees, plants, 

 and shrubs which were even then grouped on 

 the lawn after a fashion that pleased her. I 

 need not go into the details of the lawn planting, 

 the flower garden, the pergola, and so forth. I 

 have a suspicion that Polly has in mind a full 

 account of the " fight for the home forty," in a 

 form greatly better than I could give it, and it is 

 only fair that she should tell her own story. I 

 am not the only one who admires her landscape, 

 her flower gardens, and her woodcraft. Many 



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