me
even to waft a questioning glance across the interim of parched grass
which stretched between her kitchen stoop and that of her friend; but
the latter saw her sitting there and felt a keen, remorseful stab.

"I guess I 'll go down in the square f'r jus' five minutes," she
called to the dejected figure, and forthwith sallied out to the
conflict.

The five minutes stretched to an hour, and Mrs. Lathrop was frankly
asleep when her vigil was terminated by her neighbor's return. The
latter came up and sat down on the steps, heaving a mighty sigh as she
did so.

"Well, I see Mrs. Brown," she began in a tone of reminiscent sympathy,
"'n' I can tell you 't Mrs. Brown is in a situation not to be lightly
sneezed over."

"What did--" remarked Mrs. Lathrop, rubbing her eyes.

"What did Henry Ward Beecher do? Well, he jus' up 'n' did the same 's
the night afore. Ate the Sons o' Veterans' pudding 's Mrs. Brown had
all ready for the Lodge meetin', 'n' all the baked beans 's was for
to-day's luncheon too. She says she never dreamed as no human bein'
could hold what that boy can. She says young Dr. Brown says 't he
wants to come 'n' observe him to-night 'f he don't have to go over to
Meadville to get two of his saws sharpened. Mrs. Brown says he says
he's goin' to write a paper for the Investigatin' Society, but I don't
see how that's goin' to help the Sons o' Veterans none. Doctors'
observations 'n' investigations 's all right 's far 's they go, but I
don' fancy as they can be made to take the place o' no eat up puddin'
inside o' no son of a veteran. 'N' anyhow, Henry Ward Beecher or no
Henry Ward Beecher, Mrs. Craig 's jus' about frantic over her cat. She
says there's cat's hair everywhere 'n' the cat ain't nowhere. She was
doin' out her churnin' 'n' she found some hairs in the butter. I asked
her 'f maybe Augustus hadn't fed the cat to the cow, 'n' she says they
thought o' that, but her husband says 't ain't possible, for there
ain't room for a cat to turn over in the place where a cow turns
everything over afore she swallows it. Mrs. Craig says, besides, 't
she asked Augustus, but he jus' said, 'Wash zhat?--Zhat a cow?--Zhi a
cow?--Zhu a cow?' 'n' she see plain 'n' forever where he got the name
o' bein' so bad, for she was dyin' to switch him 'n' couldn't in honor
say as she had any real reason to. But all the same she says she's as
sure as Fate 't him 'n' no one else 's at the bottom o' her cat--only
how in all creation a