serious matter about the jelly, for Mrs. Grace 's most dead 'n' all
the calves in town is alive, 'n' so where any more jelly 's to be got
in time the Lord only knows. Mrs. Brown thinks some one 'd ought to
write to the minister; she says it ain't possible 's he's always eat
like this nights 'n' she wants to know how to put a stop to it. Mrs.
Allen thinks 't some one 'd ought to write to the minister too. She
says 't Sam 'n' Felicia was down on the bridge last night a-holdin'
hands. She says Polly saw 'em.

"'N' Gran'ma Mullins is another as thinks 't some one 'd ought to
write to the minister. She was down town a-buyin' some honey to put on
little Jane's thumb. She's all but stark mad. She says mice 'n' moths
is goin' to be mere jokes to her hereafter. She says 'f the minister
don't come back soon little Jane 'll have her sucked out o' bed 'n'
board. She says little Jane 's like him in the history 't where he
chewed the grass never grew again. There seems to be considerable
anxiety 's to when the minister 'll get back. Nobody thought to ask
him where he was goin', 'n' as a consequence nobody knows where he's
gone. Nobody thought to ask him when he was comin' back, 'n' 's a
consequence no one knows when he's thinkin' o' comin' back. Mr.
Kimball says 't his view o' the matter is as the minister was tired o'
havin' thirteen children 'n' is gone off somewhere else to begin all
over. Fun or not, the idea 's sort of upset every one. They went down
to see where he bought his ticket for, but Johnny says he only took it
to the junction, 'n' my own experience is 't a junction may lead to
'most anythin'. Mrs. Macy says 's there's only one way to be sure
whether he's gone for good or not, 'n' that is to go up to the house
'n' see whether he took his ear-muffs along, for it stands to reason
't any man who 'd pack his ear-muffs a week like this ain't intendin'
to ever return. Every one see the sense o' that, 'n' so Mrs. Macy 's