remembered rightly, but that there was no disturbance made about the
matter as it saved several people much trouble; that Mrs. Morrison had
had no relations, though she possessed a large circle of admiring
friends; that none of the admiring friends had called since her death or
asked about the children; and finally that Number 3 had been turned into
a saloon, and she was welcome to go in and slake her thirst for
information with something more satisfactory than she could get outside.

The last straw, and one that would have broken the back of any
self-respecting (unmarried) camel in the universe, was the offensive
belief, on the part of the Minerva Courtiers, that the rigid Puritan
maiden who was conducting the examination was the erring mother of the
children, visiting (in disguise) their former dwelling-place. The
conversation on this point becoming extremely pointed and jocose, Miss
Cummins finally turned and fled, escaping to the railway station as fast
as her trembling legs could carry her. So the trip was a fruitless one,
and the mystery that enshrouded Timothy and Lady Gay was as impenetrable
as ever.

"I wish I'd 'a' gone to the city with you," remarked Samantha. "Not that
I could 'a' found out anything more 'n you did, for I guess there ain't
anybody thereabouts that knows more 'n we do, and anybody 't wants the
children won't be troubled with the relation. But I'd like to give them
bold-faced jigs 'n' hussies a good piece o' my mind for once! You're too
timersome, Vildy! I b'lieve I'll go some o' these days yet, and carry a
good stout umbrella in my hand too. It says in a book somewhar's that
there's insults that can only be wiped out in blood. Ketch 'em hintin'
that I'm the mother of anybody, that's all! I declare I don' know what
our Home Missionary Societies's doin' not to regenerate them places or
exterminate 'em, one or t' other. Somehow our religion don't take holt