"Youngish, is she, with sort of wavy brown hair and--"

"No, sir," Zephania tittered, "Miss Cousins is kind of old and has real
gray hair."

"Really? On my other side, then, who's my neighbor there? Or haven't I
one?"

"Oh, yes, sir," answered Zephania, eagerly. "That's the Walton house,
and that's--"

"The--_what_?" asked Wade, sitting up very suddenly in the green rep
rocker.

"The Walton house, sir."

"Oh! Hum! And--er--who lives there, Zephania?"

"Miss Walton and Miss Mullett."

"What's this Miss--Miss Walton like? Is she rather stout with quite
black hair, Zephania?"

"Oh, no, Mr. Herring! I guess you saw Mrs. Sampson, the dressmaker. She
lives over there across the common, in the little yellowish house with
the vines; see?"

"Yes, yes, I see. That's where Miss Sampson lives, eh? Well, well! But
we were speaking about Miss Walton, weren't we?"