CHAPTER II 



Behind the Backlog 



A GREAT day that when the storm- 

 doors and windows all come down 

 and we let the sunlight in. This cere- 

 mony is commonly celebrated in April. 

 Of course various exploring expeditions 

 always precede the first real lighting 

 of the fire, and the actual starting of 

 the clock. These must wait yet a little 

 while. But the knowledge of the certain 

 joys they are to bring is ours already. 

 Andy, the watchman, tells us that 

 the snow along the hedge-row out in 

 front had been piled so high that in his 

 winter rounds he walked safely over 

 the top repeatedly. This we could well 

 believe, for unmelted remnants of 

 great drifts were still in evidence in 



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