12 



HOME AND FLO WERS 



'"'I want YOU to come an' make ns a good 

 long visit, Oliris'mns time/' Mrs. Graham 

 said to Mary, as she smoothed the little 

 girl's hair back from her face caressingly, 

 in a way that Mary liked to have her, 

 because it had been her dead mother's 

 way. "Yon^ll w^ant to see Gran'ma Gra- 

 ham by that time., I guess, won't ye 



"I shall want to see you long before 

 that,'^ answered Mary. "I wish Christmas 

 was next week." 



Then she put her arms about her grand- 

 mother's neck and kissed the wrinkled 

 cheek that some way made her think of a 

 winter pippin with the sun shining on it. 

 Her grandmother's face was lovely in her 

 eyes, because it expressed love. 



The sight of that kiss angered Miss 

 Betty, but why it should do so she could 

 not explain to herself. 



^^Ye'll have a good time, I know," said 

 Mrs. Graham. "We like little girls, an' 

 al'ays try to make it pleasant fer 'em." 



Under the circumstances, this was a 

 most unfortunate thing to say, for it gave 

 Miss Betty the opportunity she was wait- 

 ing for. 



"That's as much as to say, I s'pose, that 

 some folks dont like 'em, nor try to make 

 things pleasant fer 'em, meanin' me!" she 

 cried, stiffening up into a defiant straight- 

 ness of bacl^ that made Mary think of the 

 way in which Old Bruiser shook his head 

 before making one of his charges on the 

 enemy. 



"I didn't think anything about you," 

 said Mrs. Graham. "I meant jest what I 

 said — no more an' no less." 



"That'll do to tell," responded Miss 

 Betty. "But sayin' so's one thing, an' 

 convinein' me of it is another." 



"Well, if you don't see fit to b'lieve what 

 I say, I can't help it," said Mrs. Graham. 

 "It's the truth, anyway, 'n' / know it, if 

 you don't, so my mind's easy over iio I 

 didn't come here to pick quarrels. That 

 never was my way. We may be ^shif'less' 

 folks, but we've al'ays lived peaceable with 

 our neighbors, an' al'ays calcilate to." 



"I s'pose that means that / don't," 'said 



Miss Betty, determined now more than 

 ever to force a quarrel with her visitor. 



Mrs. Graham laughed a little before iihe 

 made reply, thereby exasperating Miss 

 Betty more than she could have done in 

 any other way. 



"If you insist in twistin' it ev'ry which 

 way, it might mean a good many things, 

 I s'pose," she said, "but you'll be doin' 

 that, not me, an' I ain't to blame for what 

 I didn't say or mean. I'm goin' away 

 pretty soon, so don't le's have any w^ords, 

 ■ Mis' Peabody." 



"Then don't go to twittin' an' hintin' 

 things," said Miss Betty. "I'd a good 'eal 

 ruther folks'd come right out, square 'n' 

 plain, 'n' say what they mean to me, than 

 go to beatin' 'round the bush. I know 

 .you'll go home 'n' tell your folks that I 

 don't treat Mary well, ^n' first I know 't'll 

 git back to me that I misuse her the worst 

 way. The Grahamses al'ays had such an 

 exalted opinion o' themselves that they 

 seemed to think the world owed ^em a 

 livin', ^n' I s'pose I o't to feel 'cordin' to 

 their way o' lookin' at things, that 'twas 

 a real priv'lege to have 'Cindy send her 

 girl to me to take care of, 'thout so much's 

 sayin' by yer leave. But I don't know's 

 I'm obleeged to look at it that way, jest 

 to please them. I never did take the Gra- 

 hamses fer a pattern, an' I don't b'leeve I 

 ever shall." 



"Mis' Peabody," said Mrs. Graham, as 

 she put Mary gently out of the room and 

 closed the door, that she might not hear 

 what was said, "I wouldn't waste words 

 goin' over that ol' story, if I was you. I've 

 heard so much about your opinions o' the 

 Grahamses that I've got it all by heart. 

 I us't to feel real sorry to think you had 

 such an opinion of us, 'long 'bout the time 

 your brother marri'd ^Cindy, but IVe got 

 reconciled to it now," and here this most 

 provoking v/oman actually chuckled, as 

 if there was a sort of humor in the situa- 

 tion that she could not lose sight of. "As 

 I said, I didn't come here to pick a quarrel. 

 You've got a right to your own opinion, 

 ^n' I ain't a-goin' to try to change it 'bout 



