"How do you get it out, Miss Viny?" asked Lovey Mary, earnestly.

"Prayer an' perseverance. If the Christian'll do his part, God'll do
his'n. You see, I'm tryin' to be to these flowers what God is to his
churches. The sun, which answers to the Sperrit, has to shine on 'em
all, an' the rain, which answers to God's mercy, has to fall on 'em
all. I jes watch 'em, an' plan fer 'em, an' shelter 'em, an' love 'em,
an' if they do their part they're bound to grow. Now I'm goin' to cut
you a nice bo'quet to carry back to the Cabbage Patch."

So engrossed were the two in selecting and arranging the flowers that
neither thought of the yellowroot or its substitute. Nevertheless, as
Lovey Mary tramped briskly back over the railroad-ties with her burden
of blossoms, she bore a new thought in her heart which was destined to
bring about a surer cure than any of Miss Viny's most efficient herbs.




CHAPTER IX

LABOR DAY


"And cloudy the day, or stormy the night,
The sky of her heart was always bright."

"It wouldn't s'prise me none if we had cyclones an' tornadoes by
evenin', it looks so thundery outdoors."