so that he could look after his sister
when they went into company. Also she walked up and sat upon Adam's
lap whenever she chose, ruffled his hair, pulled his ears, and kissed
him squarely on the mouth, with every appearance of having help, while
the dance on the front porch with her son or daughter was of daily
occurrence. And anything funnier than Agatha, prim and angular with
never a hair out of place, stiffly hopping "Money Musk" and "Turkey In
The Straw," or the "Blue Danube" waltz, anything funnier than that,
never happened. But the two Adams, Jr. and 3d, watched with reverent
and adoring eyes, for she was MOTHER, and no one else on earth rested
so high in their respect as the inflexible woman they lived with. That
she was different from all the other women of her time and location was
hard on the other women. Had they been exactly right, they would have
been exactly like her.

So Kate, thinking all these things over, her own problem acutely
"advanced and proceeded." She advanced past the closed barn, and stock
in the pasture, past the garden flaming June, past the dooryard, up the
steps, down the hall, into the screened back porch dining room and
"proceeded" to take a chair, while the family finished the Sunday night
supper, at which they were seated. Kate was not hungry and she did not
wish to trouble her sister-in-law to set another place, so she took the
remaining chair, against the wall, behind Agatha, facing Adam, 3d,
across the table, and with Adam Jr., in profile at the head, and little
Susan at the foot. Then she waited her chance. Being tired and
aggressive she did not wait long.

"I might as well tell you why I came," she said bluntly. "Father won't
give me money to go to Normal, as he has all the others. He says I
have got to stay at home and help Mother."

"Well, Mother is getting so old she needs help," said Adam, Jr., as he
continued his supper.

"Of course she is," said Kate. "We all know that. But what is the
matter with Nancy Ellen helping her, while I take my turn at Normal?
There wasn't a thing I could do last summer to help her off that I
didn't do, even to lending her my best dress and staying at home for
six Sundays because I had nothing else fit to wear where I'd be seen."

No one said a word. Kate continued: "Then Father secured our home
school for her and I had to spend the winter going to school to her,
when you very well know that I always studied harder, and was ah