Out of the Ashes by Ethel Watts Mumford
page 135 of 202 (66%)
page 135 of 202 (66%)
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She's one of the silly kind." She put out a hand like a claw, and
touched Mrs. Marteen's shoulder. Mrs. Marteen turned her flushed and troubled face toward the woman with something akin to intelligence in her eyes. "What are you settin' here fur, lady?" asked the woman harshly. "Watchin' his house? Well, it's no use; he won't come out again for you or your likes--never again, never again," and she chuckled. "I was here last night. I sat here last night," said Mrs. Marteen, her mind reverting to its last conscious moment. The woman peered at her closely, striving to see through the meshes of the veil where the electric light touched her cheek. "You did? What fur? Was he comin' out to ye, or did ye want to be let inside?" The insult was lost on the sufferer. The woman shifted her position, and changed her tone to one of cunning ingratiation. "Goin' to the funeral?" she inquired, and without waiting for an answer, continued to talk. "I am. I won't be asked, of course--they don't know I'm here; but I'm goin'. I wouldn't miss it--no, not for--nothing. I ought to have some crape, I know, but I don't see's I can. It would be the right thing, though. I'll ride in a carriage," she boasted. "I suppose they'll have black horses. I haven't seen anything back where I come from, so's I'd know just what _is_ the fashionable thing. It'll be a fashionable funeral, won't it? He's a great big man, he is. Everybody knows him--and everybody _don't_ know him; but I do--he's a devil I And |
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