ant it to interfere with my business. It's been damaging enough
already."

An older brother of Hetty and Eldon drew his pipe slowly from his mouth
and looked impressively upon the company. Jim Maise had never received
the "larnin" of which the younger members of the family boasted, but he
had what he himself fondly called "hoss sense." At any rate he was
always listened to attentively as befitted an eldest son.

"Wall," he drawled, "I reckon this here post-office affair don't come
too late for us to get even with some of the things the Greys have done
to us. Only it don't strike near enough home. Holner ain't nothing but a
son-in-law of the old man's half-brother. Now if we could strike a blow
to Robert Grey, or his sister Kitty and her family, it would be
something like. Nothin' real bad but just humblin'-like."

Periwinkle's heart beat faster at the mention of Robert Grey in this
connection and Hetty stirred nervously in her chair. She had it in her
power, as they all knew, to humiliate Kitty Farwell and incidentally
Kitty's brother, Robert Grey. Hetty had not forgotten that Kitty was
quite influential in causing the final "break" between herself and
Robert. When she spoke her voice sounded strange and hard.

"The mortgage on Mrs. Farwell's place is due in October," she suggested
rather hesitatingly.

"I was coming to that, Hetty," cried Jeoffrey eagerly. "Who holds the
mortgage now that Myra is gone. It always seemed to me to be mighty
generous of your ma, to will all her property to Myra when your pa
disinherited her."

"I hold it," replied Miss Hetty tersely, "as legal guardian of Myra's
children and heirs."

"Kitty cannot pay it?" questioned her brother Eldon quietly.

He and Mrs. Farwell had been playmates and youthful sweethearts.

"Hardly," replied his sister with a grim smile. "Kitty is scarcely worth
the eight hundred it demands. Since that shiftless husband of hers died,
she has all she can do to make ends meet and keep her three children
together."

At this heartless reply a smile of ill-disguised contempt might have
been detected on the face of at least one of the men present. But as he
was only a "poor relation" dependent for his very means of livelihood
upon the generosity of Jeoffrey and Eldon Maise he wisely remained
silent.

"Won't Robert interfere?" urged one of the women. "He'll surely help his
sister."

The leader of the clan laughed shortly.

"What's Robert got," he demanded, "tha