"
Tom knew Quincy had received a letter from Mary, saying that she and
her aunt intended spending the summer at Fabyans, and he felt that
Quincy, being near Mary, would probably be on a higher pinnacle than
any mountain could supply, and the "eternal hills" would become
objects of secondary importance. But, Tom wisely refrained from
mentioning these thoughts, for lovers do not seek confidants unless
help is needed.
Quincy found Fernborough but little changed, During the fourteen
years that he had been a resident of, or a visitor to, the town there
had been but little to disturb its serenity. Goldsmith's "Deserted
Village" could not have had a better record for unbroken placidity.
The wrestling match between young Quincy and Bob Wood had been an
incentive to some animated conversations at meal times and at the
grocery, but the "locals" in the _Fernborough Gazette_ had never
risen above the usual level of,
Hal Prentiss has bought a Jersey cow,
Strout and Maxwell have a new wagon,
William Jones has painted his fence green,
Sol. Peters cut twenty tons of hay from his lot on the Center Road,
Mrs. Jerusha May is visiting her daughter Hannah at Westvale,
And more of the same kind, interesting to a rural community but
considered inconsequential by those conversant with more exciting
intelligence.
But Fernborough was destined to have its share of important events,
which incidentally interfered with the well laid plans of both Quincy
and Mary for the vacation in the mountains.
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