the angular connection between her collar bone an' somewhere else, an'
she says she can well believe it judgin' from the way her ear keeps
shootin' into her wrist an' back again."

"But--" interrupted Mrs. Lathrop.

"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, you know how Mrs. Macy always was forever given to
economizin'. I don't say as economizin' is any sin, but I will say as
Mrs. Macy's ways of economizin' is sometimes most singular an' to-day's
a example of that. Economy's all right as long as you economize out of
yourself, but when it takes in Mrs. Sweet an' bumps young Dr. Brown I've
no patience--no more 'n Mrs. Sweet an' young Dr. Brown has. Young Dr.
Brown says it looks awful to have a black eye an' no reason for it
except fallin' over a carpet. He says when he explains as Mrs. Macy was
under the carpet no one is goin' to think it any thin' but funny, an' he
says a doctor must n't be hurt funny ways. Mrs. Sweet don't feel to
blame herself none for her arm 'cause she jerked like she does
everythin' else, with her whole heart, an' she says she did so want to
set her up that she tried harder an' harder every jerk.

"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, to go 'way back to the beginnin', seems as Mrs.
Macy set out last night, as I said before, to make over her carpet.
Seems as she wanted to turn it all around so's it'd fade away under the
stove an' fray out in the corner where it don't show. I don't say as the
idea was n't a good one--although it's come pretty hard on Mrs.
Sweet--but anyhow, good or no good, she dug up the tacks last night an'
ripped the widths an' set down to sew this mornin'. Her story is as she
turned the duck out to pasture right after breakfast an' then went to
work an' sewed away as happy as a bean until about ten o'clock. Then she
felt most awful tired from the rippin' an' yesterday an' all, so she
thought she'd rest a little. Seems as her legs was all done up in the
carpet an' gettin' out was hard so she thought she'd just lay back on
the floor. Seems she lay back suddener than she really intended an' as
she hit the floor, she was _took_.

"She give a yell an' she says she kept on givin' yells for one solid
hour, an' no one come. She says as no words can ever tell how awful it
was, for every yell sent a pain like barbed wire lightnin' forkin' an'
knifin' all ways through her. No one heard her, for the blacksmith was
shoein' a mule on one side of her an' Gran'ma Mullins an' Lucy was
discussin' Hiram on the other. You know what a