he depths of the
fireplace. "Atter the ingine come a-snortin' by, I jumped up behind the
hack whar they puts the trunks, an' I got a right good glimp' un 'er;
an' ef she hain't purty, then I dunner what purty is. What'd you say her
name wuz, maw?"

"Lordy, jess hark ter the creetur! Hain't I jess this minute hollered,
an' tole you that they hain't called no names?"

"I 'lowed maybe you moughter hearn the name named, an' then drapt it,"
said Bud, still gazing into the fire. "I tell you what, she made that
ole hack look big, _she_ did!"

"You talk like you er start crazy, Bud!" exclaimed Mrs. Stucky, leaning
over, and fixing her glittering eyes on his face. "Lordy! what's she by
the side er me? Is she made out'n i'on?"

Bud's enthusiasm immediately vanished, and a weak, flickering smile took
possession of his face.

"No'm--no'm; that she hain't made out'n i'on! She's lots littler'n you
is--lots littler. She looks like she's sorry."

"Sorry! What fer?"

"Sorry fer we-all."

Mrs. Stucky looked at her son with amazement, not unmixed with
indignation. Then she seemed to remember something she had forgotten.

"Sorry fer we-all, honey, when we er got this great big pile er tavern
vittles?" she asked with a smile; and then the two fell to, and made the
most of Mrs. Haley's charity.

At the tavern Helen and her aunt sat long at their tea, listening to the
quaint gossip of Mrs. Haley, which not only took a wide and entertaining
range, but entered into details that her guests found extremely
interesting. Miss Tewksbury's name reminded Mrs. Haley of a Miss
Kingsbury, a Northern lady, who had taught school in Middle Georgia, and
who had "writ a sure-enough book," as the genial landlady expressed it.
She went to the trouble of hunting up this "sure-enough" book--a small
school dictionary--and gave many reminiscences of her acquaintance with
the author.

In the small parlor, too, the ladies found General Garwood awaiting
them; and they held quite a little reception, forming the acquaintance,
among others, of Miss Lou Hornsby, a fresh-looking young woman, who had
an exclamation of surprise or a grimace of wonder for every statement
she heard and for every remark that was made. Miss Hornsby also went to
the piano, and played and sang "Nelly Gray" and "Lily Dale" with a
dramatic fervor that could only have been acquired in a boarding school.
The Rev. Arthur Hill was also there, a little gentleman, whose
side-whiskers and mo