"Yes," said Mrs. Lathrop, "'n' I'll go right 'n'--"

"That's right," said the bereaved, "'n' hurry."

It was a week later--a calm and lovely evening--and the two friends
stood by the fence. The orphan girl was talking, while Mrs. Lathrop
chewed her clover.

"It don't seem like only a week!--seems more like a month or even a
year. Well, they say sometimes, folks live a long ways ahead in a very
short time, 'n' I must say 't, as far 's my observation 's extended,
comin' into property always leads to experience, so I couldn't in
reason complain 't not bein' no exception. This 's been the liveliest
week o' my life, 'n' I'm free to confess 't I haven't cried anywhere
near 's much 's I looked to. My feelin's have been pretty agreeable,
take it all in all, 'n' I'd be a born fool 'f I didn't take solid
comfort sleepin' nights, 'n' I never was a fool--never was 'n' never
will be. The havin' somebody to sleep in the house 's been hard, 'n'
Mrs. Macy's fallin' through the cellar-flap giv' me a bad turn, but
she's doin' nicely, 'n' the minister makes up f'r anythin'. I do wish
't you'd seen him that afternoon, Mrs. Lathrop; he did look _so_ most
awful sheepish, 'n' his clean collar give him dead away afore he ever
opened his mouth. He set out by sayin' 't the consolations of religion
was mine f'r the askin', but I didn't take the hint, 'n' so he had to
jus' come out flat 'n' say 't he'd been thinkin' it over 'n' he'd
changed his mind. I held my head good 'n' high 't that, I c'n assure
you, 'n' it was a pretty sorry look he give me when I said 't I'd been
thinkin' it over too, 'n' I'd changed my mind too. He could 'a' talked
to me till doomsday about his bein' a consolation, I'd know it was
nothin' 't changed him but me comin' into them government bonds. No