to Scarford with them.
Mrs. Ginn's attitude when she was told of the family exodus was a
great surprise. Serena, who broke the news to her, expected grief and
lamentations; instead Azuba was delighted.

"Well, now!" she exclaimed. "Ain't that fine! Ain't that splendid! I
always wanted to go somewhere's besides Trumet, and now I'm goin'. I
always told Labe, my husband, that if there was one thing I was jealous
of him about 'twas travelin'. 'You go from Dan to Beersheby,' I says to
him, 'any time you want to.' 'Yes,' says he--this was the last time he
was to home, three years ago--'Yes,' he says, 'and when I don't want to,
too.' 'And I,' I says, 'I have to say stuck here in Trumet like a post
in a rail fence.' 'You look more like the rail, Zuby,' he says--he's
always pokin' fun 'cause I ain't fleshy. 'Don't make no difference what
I LOOK like,' I says, 'here I be and I ain't never been further than
the Brockton cattle show since I was ten year old.' But now I'm goin' to
travel at last. My! I'm so tickled I don't know what to do. I'll start
in makin' my last fall's hat over this very night. Say, it's a good
thing you've got me to help in the goin' and the settlin', ain't it,
Sereny--Mrs. Dott, I mean."

In the face of this superb confidence Serena, who had intended leaving
Azuba behind, lacked the courage to mention the fact. And when she
sought her husband in the store and asked him to do it, he flatly
refused.

"What!" he said. "Tell Zuba Ginn we're goin' to cast her adrift! I
should say not! Of course we can't do any such thing, Serena."

"But what can we do with her, Daniel? We might leave her here to take
care of the place, I suppose, but that would only be for a time, until
we find somebody to buy it. Of course we can't run two places, and we'll
have to sell this one some time or other."

Daniel, to whom the idea of selling the home of which he had been so
proud was unthinkable, ignored the question.

"You couldn't leave her here," he declared. "She wouldn't stay. Zuba's
queer--all her tribe are and always was--but she's nobody's fool. She'd
know right off you were tryin' to get rid of her. No, it may be all
right enough to leave Nate Bangs in charge of the store, because he'd
like nothin' better, but you can't leave Zuba in the house."

"Then what can we do with her?"

"Take her with us. She can do housekeepin' in Scarford same as she can
here, can't she?"

"Take her with us! Why, Daniel Dott! the very id