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My Unwilling Neighbor
by
“Is this your house?” she cried, the moment her eyes fell upon me.”And what is it doing here?”I did not immediately answer, I looked at the angry woman, and behind her I saw, through the open door, the daughter crossing the hallway. It was plain that she had decided to let me have it out with her mother without interference. As briefly and as clearly as I could, I explained what had happened.
“What is all that to me?” she screamed.”It doesn’t matter to me how your house got here. There have been storms ever since the beginning of the world, and I never heard of any of them taking a house into a person’s back yard. You ought not to have built your house where any such thing could happen. But all this is nothing to me. I don’t understand now how your house did get here, and I don’t want to understand it. All I want is for you to take it away.”
“I will do that, madam, just as soon as I can. You may be very sure I will do that. But—”
“Can you do it now?” she asked.”Can you do it to-day?I don’t want a minute lost. I have not been outside to see what damage has been done, but the first thing to do is to take your house away.”
“I am going to the town now, madam, to summon assistance.”
Mrs. Carson made no answer, but she turned and walked to the end of her porch. There she suddenly gave a scream which quickly brought her daughter from the house.”Kitty!Kitty!” cried her mother.”Do you know what he has done?He has gone right over my round flower-garden. His house is sitting on it this minute!”
“But he could not help it, mother,” said Kitty.
“Help it!” exclaimed Mrs. Carson.”I didn’t expect him to help it. What I want–“Suddenly she stopped. Her eyes flashed brighter, her mouth opened wider, and she became more and more excited as she noticed the absence of the sheds, fences, or vegetable-beds which had found themselves in the course of my all-destroying dwelling.
It was now well on in the morning, and some of the neighbors had become aware of the strange disaster which had happened to me, although if they had heard the news from Mrs. Carson they might have supposed that it was a disaster which had happened only to her. As they gazed at the two houses so closely jammed together, all of them wondered, some of them even laughed, but not one offered a suggestion which afforded satisfaction to Mrs. Carson or myself. The general opinion was that, now my house was there, it would have to stay there, for there were not enough horses in the State to pull it back up that mountainside. To be sure, it might possibly be drawn off sidewise. But whether it was moved one way or the other, a lot of Mrs. Carson’s trees would have to be cut down to let it pass.
“Which shall never happen!” cried that good lady.”If nothing else can be done, it must be taken apart and hauled off in carts. But no matter how it is managed, it must be moved, and that immediately.”Miss Carson now prevailed upon her mother to go into the house, and I stayed and talked to the men and a few women who had gathered outside.
When they had said all they had to say, and seen all there was to see, these people went home to their breakfasts. I entered my house, but not by the front door, for to do that I would have been obliged to trespass upon Mrs. Carson’s back porch. I got my hat, and was about to start for the town, when I heard my name called. Turning into the hall, I saw Miss Carson, who was standing at my front door.