with something very different. And when Will Sears saw her coming in
the gate he was both relieved and uncomfortably uneasy.

She came right in and just looked at that desolate couple for a few
seconds. Then:

"Will Sears," she asked briefly, "what are you aiming to do about this?"

Sears, who couldn't do anything, didn't know how to do anything about
it but swear, said pompously:

"What any decent, respectable, hard-working man would do,--bring back
the girl and horsewhip that whippersnapper."

Then Grandma, who knew just how much this sort of bluster was worth,
let herself go.

"Will Sears, if you honestly have an idea that you are a decent,
respectable, hard-working man, hold on to it for the love of heaven,
for you're the only human in this town that has any such notion."

"I work," Sears began defiantly.

"Oh, yes, Will, you work in a sort of a way; though I can remember the
time when Green Valley folks thought you were going to be a big
contractor. You promised well but somehow you never worked hard
enough. You work at things now to keep your own miserable self alive,
I guess, because when you get through using your week's wages there's
hardly enough left to keep bare life and decency in your family."