h girl
that does his chores is home sick with the hives. And what do you s'pose
is in the pail? _Fruit_ _cake_,--that's what 't is, no more 'n' no less!
I knowed that Smith girl didn't bake it, 'n' so I asked 'em, 'n' they
said Miss Emery give it to 'em. There was two little round try-cakes,
baked in muffin-rings. Eunice hed took some o' the batter out of a
big loaf 'n' baked it to se how it was goin' to turn out. That means
wedding-cake, or I'm mistaken!"

"There ain't no gittin' round that," agreed the assembled company, "now
is there, Mis' Bascom?"

Old Mrs. Bascom wet her finger, smoothed the parting of her false front,
and looked inscrutable.

"I don't see why you're so secret," objected Diadema.

"I've got my opinions, and I've had 'em some time," observed the good
lady. "I don't know 's I'm bound to tell 'em and have 'em held up to
ridicule. Let the veal hang, I say. If any one of us is right, we'll all
know to-morrow."

"Well, all any of us has got to judge from is appearances," said
Diadema, "and how you can twist 'em one way, and us another, stumps me!"

"Perhaps I see more appearances than you do," retorted her
mother-in-law. "Some folks mistakes all they see for all there is. I was
reading a detective story last week. It seems there was an awful murder
in Schenectady, and a mother and her two children was found dead in one
bed, with bullet holes in their heads. The husband was away on business,
and there wasn't any near neighbors to hear her screech. Well, the
detectives come from far and from near, and begun to work up the case.
One of 'em thought 't was the husband,--though he set such store by his
wife he went ravin' crazy when he heard she was dead,--one of 'em laid
it on the children,--though they was both under six years old; and one
decided it was suicide,--though the woman was a church member and
didn't know how to fire a gun off, besides. And then there come along
a detective younger and smarter than all the rest, and says he, 'If
all you bats have seen everything you can see, I guess I'll take a look
around,' says he. Sure enough, there was a rug with 'Welcome' on it
layin' in front of the washstand, and when he turned it up he found
an elegant diamond stud with a man's full name and address on the gold
part. He took a train and went right to the man's house. He was so taken
by surprise (he hadn't missed the stud, for he had a full set of 'em)
that he owned right up and confessed the murder.