“Is that so? I judged from what you said we wa'n't goin' to talk about it. Aw, don't be so mean, Ase! Showin' off your importance like a young one! What did Heman say about the appropriation? Is he goin' to get it?” Mr. Tidditt paused before replying. Then, bending over, he whispered in his chum's ear: “He never said one word about the appropriation, Bailey; not one word. He wanted to know if we'd got this year's taxes on the Whittaker place. And, if we hadn't, what was we goin' to do about it? Bailey, between you and me and the mizzenmast, Heman Atkins wants to get ahold of that place the worst way.” “He does? He DOES? For the land sakes, ain't he got property enough already? Ain't a--a palace like that enough for one man, without wantin' to buy a rattletrap like THAT?” The first “that” was emphasized by a brandished but reverent left hand; the second by a derisively pointing right. The two friends had reached the crest of the long slope leading up from the townhall. On one side of the road stretched the imposing frontage of the “Atkins estate,” with its iron fence and stone posts; on the other slouched the weed-grown, tumble-down desolation of the “Cy Whittaker place.” The contrast was that of opulent prosperity and poverty-stricken neglect. If our village boasted one of those horseless juggernauts, such as are used to carry sightseers in Boston from the old North Church to the Public Library and other points of interest--that is, if there was a “seeing Bayport” car, it is from this hill that its occupants would be given their finest view of the village and its surroundings. As Captain Josiah Dimick always says: “Bayport is all north and south, like a codfish line. It puts me in mind of Seth Higgins's oldest boy. He was so tall and thin that when they bought a suit of clothes for him, they used to take reefs in the sides of the jacket and use the cloth to piece onto the bottoms of the trousers' legs.” What Captain Joe means is that the houses in the village are all built beside three roads running longitudinally. There is the “main road” and the “upper road”--or “Woodchuck Lane,” just as you prefer--and the “lower road,” otherwise known as “Bassett's Holler.” The “upper road” is sometimes called the “depot road,” because the railroad station is conveniently located thereon--convenient for the railroad, that is--the station being a full mile from Simmons's “general store,” which is considered the center of the town. The upper road enters the main road at the corner by the store, and there also are the Methodist meetinghouse and the schoolhouse. The townhall is in the hollow farther on. Then comes the big hill--