that grind. And such a woman--the lovely gracious thing with the
unfaithful, dishonored lover's child in her arms, other women's
tumbling children clinging to her skirts and with hands outstretched
to protect and comfort the old gray heads in her care! A woman with a
sorrow in her heart but with eyes that were deep blue pools in which
there mirrored loves for all her little world! For a long time he sat
and looked out into the darkness, then suddenly he squared his
shoulders, gripped the rail tight in his hands for a half second and
then slipped to the ground. Picking up his switch he turned and strode
off toward Sweetbriar, which by this time was a little handful of
fireflys glowing down in the sweet meadows.

When he got as far as the blacksmith's shop Everett climbed the wall
and approached the house through the garden, for in front of the store
had been piled high a bonfire of empty boxes and dry wood boughs, and
most of the inhabitants of Sweetbriar, small fry and large, were
assembled in jocular groups around its blaze of light. He could see
Mr. Crabtree and Bob rolling out an empty barrel to serve as a
speaking stand for the Honorable Gid, who stood in the foreground in
front of the store steps talking to Uncle Tucker, with an admiring
circle around him. Horses and wagons and buggies were hitched at
various posts along the road, which indicated the gathering of a small
crowd from neighboring towns to hear the coming oration, and the front
porch of the store presented a scene of unwonted excitement.

Everett clicked the garden gate and steered around to the back door of
the kitchen in hopes of finding black Mag still at her post and
begging of her a glass of milk and a biscuit. But as he stood in the
doorway, instead of Mag he discovered Rose Mary with her white skirts
tucked up under one of her long kitchen aprons, putting the final