"

Mrs. Holt's face flushed crimson. She looked at Kate and said
vindictively: "If you want any comfort in life, never marry and bring
a son inter the world. You kin humour him, and cook for him, an work
your hands to the bone fur him, and sell your land, and spend all you
can raise educatin' him for half a dozen things, an' him never stickin
to none or payin' back a cent, but sass in your old age--"

"Go it, Mother, you're doing fine!" said George. "If you keep on Miss
Bates will want to change her boarding place before morning."

"It will not be wholly your mother's fault, if I do," said Kate. "I
would suggest that if we can't speak civilly, we eat our supper in
silence. This is very good food; I could enjoy it, if I had a chance."

She helped herself to another soda biscuit and a second piece of fried
chicken and calmly began eating them.

"That's a good idy!" said Mrs. Holt.

"Then why don't you practice it?" said her son.

Thereupon began a childish battle for the last word. Kate calmly
arose, picked up her plate, walked from the room, down the hall, and
entering her own room, closed the door quietly.

"You fool! You great big dunderheaded fool!" cried Mrs. Holt. "Now you
have done it, for the thousandth time. She will start out in less than
no time to find some place else to stay, an' who could blame her?
Don't you know who she is? Ain't you sense in your head? If there was
ever a girl you ort to go after, and go quick an' hard, there she is!"

"What? That big beef! What for?" asked George.

"You idjit! You idjit! Don't you sense that she's a daughter of Adam
Bates? Him they call the Land King. Ain't you sense ner reason?
Drive her from the house, will you? An' me relyin' on sendin' you half
her board money to help you out? You fool!"

"Why under the Heavens didn't you tell me? How could I know? No
danger but the bowl is upset, and it's all your fault. She should be
worth ten thousand, maybe twenty!"

"I never knew till jist before supper. I got it frum a letter she
wrote to her brother. I'd no chanct to tell you. Course I meant to,
first chanct I had; but you go to work an upset everything before I get
a chanct. You never did amount to anything, an' you never will."

"Oh, well, now stop that. I didn't know. I thought she was just
common truck. I'll fix it up with her right after supper. Now shut
up."

"You can't do it! It's gone too far. She'll leave the house inside