"Mrs. Gerrish!" Mrs. Munger called; and Mrs. Gerrish, who had already
looked around at the approaching phaeton, and then looked away, so as not
to have seemed to look, stopped abruptly, and after some exploration of the
vicinity, discovered where the voice came from.

"Oh, Mrs. Munger!" she called back, bridling with pleasure at being greeted
in that way by the chief lady of South Hatboro', and struggling to keep up
a dignified indifference at the same time. "Why, Annie!" she added.

"Good morning, Emmeline," said Annie; she annexed some irrelevancies about
the weather, which Mrs. Munger swept away with business-like robustness.

"We were driving down to your house to find you. I want to see the
principal ladies of your church, and talk with them about our Social Union.
You've heard about it?"

"Well, nothing very particular," said Mrs. Gerrish; she had probably heard
nothing at all. After a moment she asked, "Have you seen Mrs. Wilmington
yet?"

"No, I haven't," cried Mrs. Munger. "The fact is, I wanted to talk it over
with you and Mr. Gerrish first."

"Oh!" said Mrs. Gerrish, brightening. "Well, I was just going right there.
I guess he's in."

"Well, we shall meet there, then. Sorry I can't offer you a _seat_.
But there's nothing but the rumble, and that wouldn't hold you _all_."