ink was my
feelin's then?--I tell you boilin' lava 'n' India's sunny strand was n't
hotter than me that minute. Me--the backbone of the whole thing 'n' sold
out like I was a mummy while I was in town buyin' darnin'-cotton!"

Miss Clegg shifted her weight to the other foot and drew a long, fresh
breath.

"Mr. Kimball 'n' me has never been the same since," she continued with
warmth;--"we had enough to make us different, Heaven knows, for from
that day on misfortune has just dogged and rabbited me, I know. The
winter was so cold that the only way the Refrigerator Trust could come
out even was to burn up toward spring, 'n' the day it burnt wheat was
sittin' on 140, kissin' his hand to the new crop."

"But Mr. Kim--" interposed Mrs. Lathrop.

"Oh, well, of course, havin' Mr. Shores fail right opposite brightened
everything for him--I 'd smile myself if any one was to fail right
opposite me, 'n' I said just that very thing to Mr. Shores the mornin'
after. I says,--I says, 'Mr. Shores, you must consider that this is a
world of ups and downs, 'n' that if you don't like to fail your failure
is makin' Mr. Kimball happy 'n' your loss will be his credit.' But Mr.
Shores was too busy to talk, so I bought two skewers to encourage him
'n' come out, 'n' within a week I found to my sorrow as I was pretty
unpleasantly near to a mark-down sale myself."

"It was--" observed Mrs. Lathrop, sadly.

"Yes," said her friend, "that's just when it was,--that very self-same
week. I was in the square listenin' to Gran'ma Mullins' everlastin' tale
of woe over Hiram 'n' Lucy, 'n' up come the blacksmith with a tale of
woe for myself. Now, Mrs. Lathrop, you know me 'n' you 've known me a
long time 'n' you 've heard me tell this a good many times 'n' yet I
want to ask you one time more,--_do_ you think any one but the
blacksmith 'n' Mr. Dill would ever have blamed me for the crick's
washing out back of the blacksmith's 'n' lettin' the anvil 'n' the hind
legs of Mr. Dill's horse slide out sudden? Of course, I own the
blacksmith shop 'n' of course I rent it, but--as I told him 'n' Mr. Dill
both that very day--nobody can't rent common sense nor yet keep track of
men's washouts 'n' horses' hind legs. I knowed all the time I was
walkin' towards the crick that it was goin' to be a bad business, but I
never expected to see nothin' as looked like Mr. Dill's horse, 'n' I
never again shall hope to see nothin' as 'll look like Mr. Dill's looks
as he looked a