loose end to tie up on the Road, child. Even
Bettie herself have finished for the day and have gone over to set a
quiet hour with Mis' Bostack. Clothes is all laid out on beds, and cold
lunch snacks put on kitchen tables. They ain't to be a dinner cooked on
the Road this day 'cept what 'Liza and Cindy are a-stewing up for the
Deacon and Mis' Bostick. Looks like everything is on greased wheels,
and--but there comes the child running now! I do hope they haven't
nothing flew the track."

"Mother Mayberry, please ma'am, tell me what to do about Mis' Tutt!"
Eliza exclaimed with anxiety spread all over her little face, which was
given a comic cast by a row of red flannel rags around her head over
which were rolled prospective curls, due to float out for the
festivities. "She says she won't go to the wedding 'cause it's prayer
meeting night, and it were a sin to put off the Lord's meeting 'till
to-morrow night. I didn't know she were a-going to do this way! I got
out her dress for her yesterday. The Squire is so mad he says tell
Doctor Tom to come do something for him quick and not to bring no hot
water kettle neither."

"Dearie me," said Mother Mayberry with mild exasperation in her voice.
"You run along, 'Liza, and don't you worry with Mis' Tutt. I'll come
down there tereckly and see if I can't kinder persuade her some. Go
around there and give that message to Doctor Tom yourself. I don't take
no stock in such doctoring as he does to the Squire these days."

"Isn't it too bad for Mrs. Tutt to feel that way and miss the wedding?"
asked Miss Wingate with a trace of the same exasperation in her voice
that had sounded in Mother Mayberry's tones.

"It are that," answered Mother regretfully. "Looks like religion
oughter be tooken as a cooling draft to the soul and not stuck on life
like a fly blister. But I think we can kinder fix Mis' Tutt some. And
that reminds me, I want you to undertake a job of using a little
persuading on Tom Mayberry for me. He have got the most lovely long
tail coat, gray britches, gray vest and high silk hat up in his press,
and he says he are a-going to wear his blue Sunday clothes same as
usual, when I asked him careless like about it this morning. I'm fair
dying to behold him just onct in them good clothes he wears out in the
big world and thinks Providence people will make fun of him to see, but
I wouldn't ask him outright to put 'em on for me, not for nothing."

"Do you know, Mrs. Mayberry, you