Mrs. Lathrop's jaw dropped. A sudden and complete paralysis of all her
faculties seemed to be the immediate effect of her friend's astounding
communication.

For a full half-minute there was silence in the kitchen while Susan
rocked and enjoyed the sight of the havoc wrought by her speech.

But at last Mrs. Lathrop gathered some fragments out of the wreck of
her sensibilities and said feebly,--

"Why, Susan, I never hear as you had one single--"

"Nor me, neither," said the caller,--and then the sluice-gates opened,
and the stream swept through and madly on again,--"nor me, neither,
Mrs. Lathrop. I never even dreamed o' any such goin's on, 'n' I c'n
assure you 's the shock 's come 's heavy on me 's on you. I went up
garret this mornin' 's innocent 's a babe whose mother 's yet unborn,
'n' there I found her."

"In the garret!" cried Mrs. Lathrop.

Miss Clegg drew a long breath.

"In a trunk. 'N' jus' 's unexpected 's the comin' o' Judgment Day.
Mrs. Lathrop, you c'n believe me or not jus' 's you please, but I give
you my Gospel word of honor as when I turned down the flap o' a trunk
'n' see that old mousey letter stuck in it cornerways, I no more
thought o' findin' a cousin than I did o' findin' a moth, 'n' _you_
know how scarce moths is with me; I ain't so much 's seen one 'xcept