They
lived in a large house and kept two carriages and four servants, but had
no children. Henderson Woodburn was small of stature, wore a gray beard,
and was neat and precise about his person. He was treasurer of the plow
manufacturing company and was also treasurer of the church he and his
wife attended. In his youth he had been called "Hen" Woodburn and had
been bullied by larger boys, and when he grew to be a man and after his
persistent shrewdness and patience had carried him into a position of some
power in the business life of his native city he in turn became something
of a bully to the men beneath him. He thought his wife Priscilla had come
from a better family than his own and was a little afraid of her. When they
did not agree on any subject, she expressed her opinion gently but firmly,
while he blustered for a time and then gave in. After a misunderstanding
his wife put her arms about his neck and kissed the bald spot on the top of
his head. Then the subject was forgotten.
Life in the Woodburn house was lived without words. After the stir and
bustle of the farm, the silence of the house for a long time frightened
Clara. Even when she was alone in her own room she walked about on tiptoe.
Henderson Woodburn was absorbed in his work, and when he came home in the
evening, ate his dinner in silence and then worked again. He brought home
account books and papers from the office and spread them out on a table in
the living room.
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