"How are you this afternoon, Aunt Lyddy?" asked Eph, walking in without
knocking, and sitting down near her.

"So as to be able to keep about," she replied. "It is a great mercy I
ain't afflicted with falling out of my chair, like Hepsy Jones, ain't
it?"

"I've brought you some oysters," he said. "I set the basket down on the
door-step. I just took them out of the water myself from the bed I
planted to the west of the water-fence."

"I always heard you was a great fisherman," said Aunt Lyddy, "but I had
no idea you would ever come here and boast of being able to catch
oysters. Poor things! How could they have got away? But why don't you
bring them in? They won't be afraid of me, will they?"

He stepped to the door and brought in a peck basket full of large,
black, twisted shells, and with a heavy clasp-knife proceeded to open
one, and took out a great oyster, which he held up on the point of the
blade.

"Try it," he said; and then Aunt Lyddy, after she had swallowed it,
laughed to think what a tableau they had made--a man who had been in the
State-prison standing over her with a great knife! And then she laughed
again.

"What are you laughing at?" he said.

"It popped into my head, supposing Susan should have looked in at the
south window and Joshua into the door, when you was feeding out that