her children.

"Give it to him--he's got teeth left to chaw on," whimpered grandmother,
and her old chest heaved with bitterness because grandfather, who was
three years the elder, still retained two jaw teeth on one side of his
mouth.

A yellow-and-white cat, after vainly purring against grandmother's
stool, had jumped on the window-sill in pursuit of a belated wasp, and
Sarah, rushing to the rescue of her flowers, cuffed the animal soundly
and placed her in grandfather's lap. He was a lover of cats--a harmless
fancy which was a source of unceasing annoyance to his wife.

"Abel, I wish you'd mend that leak in the smokehouse after breakfast,"
remarked Sarah, in an aggressive tone that meant battle. "Two shingles
are gone an' thare four more that want patchin'."

"I can't, I've got work to do at the mill," replied Abel, as he rose
from his chair. "Solomon Hatch sent me his corn to grind and he's coming
over to get the sacks."

"Well, I reckon I'm worth as much as Solomon Hatch, a little pasty faced
critter like that," rejoined Sarah.

"Why can't Archie do it? What is he good for?"

"I'm going hunting with Jim Halloween," returned Archie sullenly, "he's
got some young dogs he wants to break in to rabbit running."

"I might have known thar warn't nobody to do what I ask 'em," observed