back fire and are playing the hose on the barn and Trappier cottage. The smoke is so bad may I take 

 the children across the track to one of the vacant houses?" 



"Yes, indeed, take some food and milk for the baby and I will be there just as quick as I possibly 

 can. I will go by the way of Port Jefferson and drive over." 



"Don't worry, everj'thing is all right only the smoke is choking us all." 



I returned about 3:30 and everything had settled down again, the fire had been close because the 

 high wind drove it into the high trees and the burning leaves and pine needles blew great distances. 

 The greatest fight was to save our next-door neighbors who are almost surrounded by woods. 



Dominique Boquet was becoming restive, he w?s explaining to us continually that everything 

 was done wTong, that the Belgian methods were much the best and intensive, super-intensive methods 

 were the only ones to follow. Here lay one possible reason for George's disobedience to planting orders. 

 Finally, one day in late July, he said: 



"Mr. Fullerton I did not know I was expected to do hard work; I thought I was to go around the 

 farm once a day and report what was growing." 



"Well, Dominique, I guess Mrs. Fullerton and I can take care of that. What did you think when 

 you came out here to clear land?" 



"Well, anyhow this farm is all wrong and I think I should correct the errors." (He spoke good 

 English). 



"You're right this farm is all wrong, it is one of the worst farms I have ever seen, and I am rather 

 of the opinion you are partly responsible for it. 



"Well, I can't stay and work like this any longer." 



"All right, the team is going down to the 3:30 train and you can go along." 



"All right, sir," and he promptly packed his belongings, filled every box and sack he could find 

 with greens from his own little garden patch and departed in peace. We have heard from him in many 

 parts of the country since. I guess he is a rover by instinct. 



Mrs. Barrett had become hysterical and was childishly uncontrollable; she went from bad to wors3 

 and we concluded she had all she could manage to take care of her four small children. 



Mis. Trappier took us in until we could get someone else, and establish our dining-room in Henry's 

 house, which was the cottage used at the fairs in 190S. 



In a week's time the back porch had been enclosed for a kitchen and Walter Jayne (who had been 

 helping the painter and who was out of work) and his young German wife came to us and were installed 

 in this cottage. This necessitated Henry and Anon moving into the tower (which was to have been an 

 office) and a general "all hands change." 



George was not improving, in fact was growing worse. Berry pickers — youngsters from Medford 

 — were keeping us busy to superintend, and as each basket (pints for raspberries and quarts for goose- 

 berries and currants) were lined with paraffin paper, it was one person's task to fix the baskets. There 

 were .«igns of mutiny from George, which were encouraged if not absolutely inspired by his wife, so they 

 were dismis.sed on August 1st. It has been hard for us to realize that a young fellow who advanced 

 so rapidly in his place, who had the chance to become foreman of the 80-acre farm, who could have 

 risen to any height he chose in his profession, could become so utterly ruined by a little prosperity. 

 The few conversations that Dick, the eldest child, had with the Senior Partner showed us that a mis- 

 taken idea of prosperity had upset them some time before. 



"]\Ir. Fullerton," in his childish English drawl, "when are you going home?" 



"Why, Dick? I guess I won't go home at all." 



"'Cause we want to go out in our yacht, same as we did last summer." 



Yachting at Patchogue, four miles to the south, was responsible for part of the farm ruin. 



"Mr. Fullerton, we are going to have bicycles, me and 'Francy' and 'Prosper.' They's going to 

 be nicer than Hope's. And we's going to have a nice automobile, not an old one like yours. And we's 

 going to have three horses nicer than Dom and Pennsy." 



Such were the ideas being instilled into the minds of these poor children, whose mother neither 

 fed, clothed nor cleaned them properly. We often wonder whether George would not have prospered 

 with a good, sensible level-headed wife, for away from her influence he seemed to be a fine fellow. Oh, 

 man is by no means to blame for all of the evils of this world! 



The automobile story is too long to dwell upon. Suffice to say the one purchased for our use 

 between the farms which is 14 miles by road and loO by rail was unable to travel in the heavy sandy 

 roads of the little used territory lying between the ftirms and showed characteristics which soon gave 

 it the name "Mud Turtle." A beautiful road mare, promptly named "Pomona," took its place; she 

 covers the distance, which is very hilly, in about two hours. 



Henry Knight, who was the senior worker on the farm, was promoted to foreman. He shrank 

 much from the responsibility, coupled with the fact that the farm was in such dreadful shape, but we 

 urged and supported him and he is making good at every point. 



Trappier next showed .signs of mutiny. One cow had been placed in the dynamite shed which 

 had been moved near the barn. A second cow was purchased when a neighbor, whose son met a tragic 

 death, came and told us that she must get away to recover her balance and could not leave the cow with 

 her old father. 



We held council. 



"What shall we do? Neither of us is cow-wise and we may get dreadfully stuck." 



"I am willing to take the risk if you are for the sake of this poor creature. If the cow is no good 

 we can sell her for beef and you and I will be out of pocket but the farm will not suffer." 



"I'll go you," was the reply. 



So "Sandy" became one of the community, and the following Sunday gave us a daughter "Sunday." 

 Sandy is all right and is a better milk and butter producer than "Wynde," who is a registered Guernsey. 



'Trappier was given charge of the cows, chickens, and pigs. He was the most pessimistic human 



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