blamed Young Folks' Society or Sunday School. Your mother an' father
and home aint good enough fer your saintship now-a-days. I wish to
goodness you'd never heard tell of that preacher; the whole set's a
batch of stingy hypocrites." She turned to her dish-washing again with
a splash. "An' there's George Udell, he aint going to keep hanging
around forever, I can tell you; there's too many that'ud jump at his
offer, fer him to allus be a dancin' after you; an' when you git through
with your foolishness, you'll find him married and settled down with
some other girl, an' what me and your father'll do when we git too old
to work, the Lord only knows. If you had half sense you'd take him too
quick."

Clara made no reply, but finishing her work in silence, hung up her
apron and left the kitchen.

Later, when Mrs. Wilson went into the pleasant little sitting-room,
where the flowers in the window _would_ bloom, and the pet canary
_would_ sing in spite of the habitual crossness of the mistress of the
house, she found her daughter attired for the street.

"Where are you going now?" she asked; "Some more foolishness, I'll be
bound; you just take them things off and stay to home; this here weather
aint fit fer you to be trapsin round in. You'll catch your death of
cold; then I'll have to take care of you. I do believe, Clara Wilson,
you are the most ungratefulest girl I ever see."

"But mother, I just must go to the printing office this afternoon. Our
society meets to-morrow night and I must look after the printing of
the constitution and by-laws."