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“There, I’ll tell you what we’d better do,” said Mrs. Flagg gallantly; “we’ll go right over an’ see poor old Miss Nancy Fell; ‘t will please her about to death. We can say we felt like goin’ somewhere to-day, an’ ‘t was a good many years since either one of us had seen Baxter, so we come just for the ride, an’ to make a few calls. She’ll like to hear all about the conference; Miss Fell was always one that took a real interest in religious matters.”

Miss Pickett brightened, and they quickened their step. It was nearly twelve o’clock, they had breakfasted early, and now felt as if they had eaten nothing since they were grown up. An awful feeling of tiredness and uncertainty settled down upon their once buoyant spirits.

“I can forgive a person,” said Mrs. Flagg, once, as if she were speaking to herself; “I can forgive a person, but when I’m done with ’em, I’m done.”

V.

“I do declare, ‘t was like a scene in Scriptur’ to see that poor good-hearted Nancy Fell run down her walk to open the gate for us!” said Mrs. Persis Flagg later that afternoon, when she and Miss Pickett were going home in the stage. Miss Pickett nodded her head approvingly.

“I had a good sight better time with her than I should have had at the other place,” she said with fearless honesty. “If I’d been Mis’ Cap’n Timms, I’d made some apology or just passed us the compliment. If it wa’n’t convenient, why couldn’t she just tell us so after all her urgin’ and say in’ how she should expect us?”

“I thought then she’d altered from what she used to be,” said Mrs. Flagg. “She seemed real sincere an’ open away from home. If she wa’n’t prepared to-day, ‘t was easy enough to say so; we was reasonable folks, an’ should have gone away with none but friendly feelin’s. We did have a grand good time with Nancy. She was as happy to see us as if we’d been queens.”

“‘T was a real nice little dinner,” said Miss Pickett gratefully. “I thought I was goin’ to faint away just before we got to the house, and I didn’t know how I should hold out if she undertook to do anything extra, and keep us a-waitin’; but there, she just made us welcome, simple-hearted, to what she had. I never tasted such dandelion greens; an’ that nice little piece o’ pork and new biscuit, why, they was just splendid. She must have an excellent good cellar, if ‘t is such a small house. Her potatoes was truly remarkable for this time o’ year. I myself don’t deem it necessary to cook potatoes when I’m goin’ to have dandelion greens. Now, didn’t it put you in mind of that verse in the Bible that says, ‘Better is a dinner of herbs where love is’? An’ how desirous she’d been to see somebody that could tell her some particulars about the conference!”

“She’ll enjoy tellin’ folks about our comin’ over to see her. Yes, I’m glad we went; ‘t will be of advantage every way, an’ our bein’ of the same church an’ all, to Woodville. If Mis’ Timms hears of our bein’ there, she’ll see we had reason, an’ knew of a place to go. Well, I needn’t have brought this old bag!”

Miss Pickett gave her companion a quick resentful glance, which was followed by one of triumph directed at the dust that was collecting on the shoulders of the best black cashmere; then she looked at the bag on the front seat, and suddenly felt illuminated with the suspicion that Mrs. Flagg had secretly made preparations to pass the night in Baxter. The bag looked plump, as if it held much more than the pocket-book and the jelly.

Mrs. Flagg looked up with unusual humility. “I did think about that jelly,” she said, as if Miss Pickett had openly reproached her. “I was afraid it might look as if I was tryin’ to pay Nancy for her kindness.”