impudence in my way? Mr. Holcroft shall see that Mrs. Viggins is an unseemly
and jarring discord in our home," and she brought the rocking chair from the
parlor to the kitchen, with a serene and lofty air. Jane hovered near the
window, watching.

At first, there was an ominous silence in respect to words. Portentous sounds
increased, however, for Mrs. Wiggins strode about with martial tread, making
the boards creak and the dishes clatter, while her red eyes shot lurid and
sanguinary gleams. She would seize a dipper as if it were a foe, slamming it
upon the table again as if striking an enemy. Under her vigorous
manipulation, kettles and pans resounded with reports like firearms.

Mrs. Mumpson was evidently perturbed; her calm superiority was forsaking her;
every moment she rocked faster--a sure indication that she was not at peace.
At last she said, with great dignity: "Mrs. Viggins, I must request you to
perform your tasks with less clamor. My nerves are not equal to this peculiar
way of taking up and laying down things."

"Vell, jes' ye vait a minute, han hi'll show ye 'ow hi kin take hup things han
put 'em down hag'in hout o' my vay," and before Mrs. Mumpson could interfere,
she found herself lifted, chair and all bodily, and carried to the parlor.
Between trepidation and anger, she could only gasp during the transit, and
when left in the middle of the parlor floor she looked around in utter
bewilderment.

It so happened that Holcroft, on his way from the barn, had seen Jane looking
in at the window, and, suspecting something amiss, had arrived just in time
for the spectacle. Convulsed with laughter, he returned hastily to the barn;
while Jane expressed her feelings, whatever they were, by executing something
like a hornpipe before the window.