llie said, then, how about some prime young pork
tenderline? And Ma Pettengill said she guessed that would do, and I
said I guessed that would do. And there we were! The ladies went to
the kitchen, where they made quick and grateful noises.

Pretty soon Uncle Henry came round a lovely corner and said try a tumbler
of this here grape wine, which he poured from a pressed-glass pitcher; so
I tried it and gave him a town cigarette, which he tucked between his
beautiful white moustache and his beautiful white whiskers. And I hoped
he didn't use gasoline to get them so clean, because if he did something
might happen when he lighted the cigarette; but nothing did, so probably
he didn't. I tried the grape wine again; and dear old Uncle Henry said he
was turning out quite a bit of it since the Gov'ment had shet down on
regular dram-shops, quite considerable of parties happening along from
time to time to barter with him, getting it for dances or colds, or
something.

A yellow cat, with blue eyes like Uncle Henry's, came and slept on
his lap. A large fussy hen with a litter of chickens--or however a hen
designates her assemblage of little ones--clucked her way to our feet.
I could see three hives of bees, a grape arbour, and a row of milk pans
drying in the sun, each leaning on its neighbour along a white bench.
Uncle Henry said drink it up while it was cold. All Nature seemed to
smile. The hen found a large and charming bug, and chuckled humorously
while her cunning little ones tore it limb from limb. It was idyllic.

Then Aunt Mollie pushed open the screen door and said come in and set up;
so I came in and set up quickly, having fried pork tenderloin and fried
potatoes, and hot biscuit and pork gravy, and cucumber pickles, and
cocoanut cake and pear preserves, peach preserves, apricot preserves,
loganberry jelly, crab-apple jelly, and another kind of preserves I was
unable to identify, though trying again and again.

Ma Pettengill ate somewhat, but talked also, keeping Uncle Henry and Aunt
Mollie shiny with smiles. They both have polished white teeth of the most
amazing regularity. I ate almost exclusively, affecting to be preoccupied
about something. The time was urgent. I formed an entangling alliance
with the pork tenderloin, which endured to a point where but one small
fragment was left on the platter. I coolly left it there, so that Aunt
Mollie might believe she had cooked more than enough.

I have never ceased to regr