windows and yelling at the top of her voice. Mrs. Lathrop paused for no conventionalities of civilization. She hoisted herself over the fence in a fashion worthy a man or a monkey, ran across the Clegg yard, entered the kitchen door, stumbled breathlessly up the dark back stairs, and gasped, grabbing Susan hard by the elbow,— 

 "What is it, for pity's—" 

 Susan was all colors and shaking as if with the ague. 

 "You never told me 's it 'd work so quick," she cried out. 

 "What would—" 

 "The feathers!" 

 "Whose feathers?" 

 "Father's feathers." 

 "Lord have mercy, Susan, you don't mean—" 

 "Yes, I do." 

 "He ain't never—" 

 "Yes, he is." 

 Mrs. Lathrop stood stricken. 

 Susan wiped her eyes with her apron and choked. 

 After a while the older woman spoke feebly. 

 "What did hap—" 

 Miss Clegg cut the question off in its prime. 

 "I don't know as I c'n ever tell you; it's too awful even to think of." 

 "But you—" 

 "I know, 'n' I'm goin' to. But I tell you once for all, Mrs. Lathrop, 't this'll be a lesson to me forever after 's to takin' the say-so o' other folks unto myself. 'N' I didn't really consider 't I was doin' so this time, f'r if I had, Lord knows I'd 'a' landed three beds atop o' him afore I'd 'a' ever—" She stopped and shook convulsively. 

 Prev. P 17/102 next