y! Adopt the baby of a woman as 'd gone off 'n' left it!"

Mrs. Lathrop looked deeply apologetic.

"I didn't know--" she ventured.

"Well, you'd ought to of," said Susan, "'n' if you didn't I'd never
own to it. Such a idea never entered my head, 'n' I can't conceive
when nor how it entered yours. Only I'm free to confess to one thing,
Mrs. Lathrop, 'n' that is 't 'f _I_ was give to havin' ideas 's
senseless 's yours often are, I'd certainly keep my mouth shut 'n' let
people 's knows more do the talkin'."

Mrs. Lathrop swallowed the rebuke and remained passively overcome by
the after-clap of her astonishment.

Susan began to knit again.

"I wasn't thinkin' o' Mrs. Shores' baby 'n' I wasn't thinkin' o' no
baby in particular. I never said I was thinkin' of any baby--I said I
was thinkin' of _a_ baby. I sh'd think you could 'a' seen the
difference, but even if you can't see it there is a difference just
the same. My sakes alive! it's a serious enough matter decidin' to
adopt some one for good 'n' all without hurryin' the doin' of it any.
If you was 's rich 's I be, Mrs. Lathrop, you'd understand that
better. 'N' if you was 's rich 's I be, you might not be in no more of
a hurry 'n I am. I ain't in a hurry a _tall_. I ain't in a hurry 'n' I
don't mean to be in a hurry. I'm only jus' a-gettin' on towards makin'
up my mind."

Mrs. Lathrop slowly and meditatively drew a piece of sky-blue farmer's
satin from her bag and looked at it absent-mindedly. Susan twirled her
stocking and went on.

"'S long 's I've begun I may 's well make a clean breast of the whole
now. O' course you don't know nothin', Mrs. Lathrop, but, to put the
whole thing in a shell, this adoptin' of a child 's a good deal to
consider. When a woman 's married, it's the Lord's will 'n' out o' the
Bible 'n' to be took without no murmurin' 's to your own feelin's in
the matter. Every one 's sorry for married people, no matter how their
children turn out, because, good or bad, like enough they done their
best, 'n' if they didn't it was always the other one's fault; but
there ain't no one goin' to lay themselves out to try 'n' smooth my
child's thorns into a bed o' roses for me. Every one 's jus' goin' to
up 'n' blame me right 'n' left, 'n' if it has a pug-nose or turns out
bad I can't shoulder none of it onto the Lord, I'll jus' have the
whole c'mmunity sayin' I've got myself 'n' no one else to thank. Now,
when you know f'r sure 't you can't blame nobody el