n' her how perfect he is over his own head."

"I don't--" said Mrs. Lathrop.

"Well, I should say not," said Susan; "but Hiram Mullins always was his
mother's white goose, an' the whole town is a witness. My idea if I was
Lucy would be to shut right down solid on the whole thing. I'd put a
bolt on my door an' keep Gran'ma Mullins an' her tuckin' tendencies on
the other side, an' if Hiram Mullins did n't come to time I'd bolt him
out, too, an' if he was n't nice about it I'd get out of the window an'
go home to my father. I guess Mr. Dill would be very glad to have Lucy
home again, for they say 'Liza Em'ly's no great success keepin' house
for him. Some one told me as Mr. Dill was in mortal fear as he was
practically feedin' the minister's whole family every time she went
home, an' that would be enough to make any man, as had only his own self
to feed, want his own daughter back, I should think.

"There's Mrs. Macy as would be glad to keep house for him if he 'd marry
her first, of course, but to my order of thinkin' Mr. Dill don't want to
marry Mrs. Macy near as much as Mrs. Macy wants to marry Mr. Dill. Mrs.
Macy says he's pesterin' her to death, an' Mr. Dill says if it's
pesterin' to speak when you're spoken to, he must buy a new dictionary
an' learn the new meanin' of the words by heart. Between ourselves, I
guess Mr. Dill is learnin' the lesson of wedded bliss from lookin' at
Lucy an' rememberin' her mother. Lucy ain't very happy an' you know as
well as I do what Mrs. Dill was. Her husband won't marry again in a
hurry, an' he's smart if he don't, for if Lucy ain't home in less 'n a
year I'll make you a tea cake."

"I--" said Mrs. Lathrop.

"Well, you ain't Lucy Dill," said her friend. "If you was you'd be
different. Lucy says this being waked up by havin' a hot flatiron slid
in among your feet most any time for no better reason than 'cause his
mother thought she heard Hiram sneeze, is a game as can be played once
too often. I see her temper was on the rise so I struck in, an' give her
a little advice of my own, an' as a result she says she's goin' to take
a strong upper hand to 'em both an' there won't be no velvet glove on it
neither. She says she can see as it's do or die for her now, an' she
don't mean to be done nor to die neither. She drank some tea as I made
strong on purpose, an' shook her head hard an' went home, an' God help
Hiram if he hummed last night; an' as for Gran'ma Mullins, Lucy said if
she com