iends; that none of the admiring friends had called since her death or
asked about the children; and finally that Number 3 had been turned into
a saloon, and she was welcome to go in and slake her thirst for
information with something more satisfactory than she could get outside.

The last straw, and one that would have broken the back of any
self-respecting (unmarried) camel in the universe, was the offensive
belief, on the part of the Minerva Courtiers, that the rigid Puritan
maiden who was conducting the examination was the erring mother of the
children, visiting (in disguise) their former dwelling-place. The
conversation on this point becoming extremely pointed and jocose, Miss
Cummins finally turned and fled, escaping to the railway station as fast
as her trembling legs could carry her. So the trip was a fruitless one,
and the mystery that enshrouded Timothy and Lady Gay was as impenetrable
as ever.

"I wish I'd 'a' gone to the city with you," remarked Samantha. "Not that
I could 'a' found out anything more 'n you did, for I guess there ain't
anybody thereabouts that knows more 'n we do, and anybody 't wants the
children won't be troubled with the relation. But I'd like to give them
bold-faced jigs 'n' hussies a good piece o' my mind for once! You're too
timersome, Vildy! I b'lieve I'll go some o' these days yet, and carry a
good stout umbrella in my hand too. It says in a book somewhar's that
there's insults that can only be wiped out in blood. Ketch 'em hintin'
that I'm the mother of anybody, that's all! I declare I don' know what
our Home Missionary Societies's doin' not to regenerate them places or
exterminate 'em, one or t' other. Somehow our religion don't take holt
as it ought to. It takes a burnin' zeal to clean out them slum places,
and burnin' zeal ain't the style nowadays. As my father used to say,
'Religion's putty much like fish 'n' pertetters; if it's hot it's good,
'n' if it's cold 'tain't wuth a'--well, a short word come in there, but
I won't say it. Speakin' o' religion, I never had any experience in
teachin', but I didn't s'pose there was any knack 'bout teachin'
religion, same as there is 'bout teachin' readin' 'n' 'rithmetic, but I
hed hard work makin' Timothy understand that catechism you give him to
learn the other Sunday. He was all upsot with doctrine when he come to
say his lesson. Now you can't scare some children with doctrine, no
matter how hot you make it, or mebbe they don't more 'n ha