July 7, 1938
 
Dear Henry:
    
          You rouse my curiosity! I take it that Mr.Vanderbilt
has given us our additional land for the cemetry. How much
and where-- and why an escrow agreement!
    
          I am off tomorrow and I am sorry not to have had a
 
chance to see you during those few hectic days at Hyde Park.
 
The latest news is as follows:
 
     1. I have let the contract for my small stone cottage
on topy of the hill, drilled a well and started to
bring in an electric line from Cream Street. The work will
being in a few days.
 
     2. Mrs. Backer got so worried over taking out the creek
on her part of hte Dunphy place that she was about
to give up the whole thing. I took her up and showed
her the site of the dance hall on the Jones place, and,
as you know, she is talking seriuosly of buying the
whole farm east of it and swapping with me the Dunphy farm
for the easterly two-thirds fo the Jones place.
       
 
        There is no hurry about this as she is going
abroad and will not be back until the end of August.