ned it, of course, but that did
not occur to her. Each of the windows was thus treated, and, beckoning
to Katharine, she led the way out-doors. The door was locked on the
outside and Susanna started homeward. She was no longer a weary or a
sad-faced woman. She was alert, silent, but unmistakably cheerful.

Kate kept close pace with the now swift steps of the housekeeper, and
finally ventured to ask: "Who is he?"

"We may not all hope to be constables, but some of us is constables
without ever runnin' for office! Well, well, well! I shouldn't be
surprised if the end o' the world happens along now, any time," said
Susanna, irrelevantly, and fell into such a brown study that Katy dared
not interrupt her, and the rest of the way home was passed in silence.

The deacon was waiting restlessly. He had not liked to desert his post
and leave the disabled Moses alone in the house. Neither had he liked to
lose his Sunday afternoon nap, well-earned refreshment of a diligent
man. One other thing he had not liked: Moses' flat refusal to discuss
their employer's affairs. This had led to other controversies, and two
disgruntled men were ready to greet the tardy wanderers.

"Hm-m. Thought you never was a-comin' back. That's all the sense a silly
woman has; let her get off grounds an' she don't know when to step on to
'em again. The deacon, he's been purty patient, but--I guess we'll be
better friends if we part for a spell now," was Moses' greeting; and,
instead of resenting it, Susanna said never a word.

In silence she brought him his cup of beef tea. In silence she went out
and fed the poultry; came in and gave Sir Philip his bowl of milk and
Punch his plate of scraps. She had long since taken the feeding of both
animals upon herself, declaring, with some show of truth, that they did
not dare "muss around" for her as they did for Eunice or Kate.

Till it was supper-time she sat in absolute silence beside the
sitting-room window, her eyes fixed upon vacancy, and an expression of
great perplexity.

Katharine bore this as long as she could, then stole softly up to the
hired man's room, careless whether he were asleep or not. She had not
been bidden to secrecy, and, finding him awake, she poured out the story
of the afternoon so fast that her words fairly tripped each other up.
Then Moses made her go back and tell it all over again, and when she had
finished, exclaimed:

"Beats thunder! A silly woman! An' me, a man! Bedrid here,