witch locks from her face, wrapped herself in her dingy blanket,
and scuttled away, muttering maledictions under her breath. The
watching group turned and followed her, and in a few seconds the
gate was heard to slam shut behind them. Grant stood where he
was, leaning against the milk-house wall; and when they were
gone, he gave a short, apologetic laugh.

"No need to lecture, Mother Hart. I know it was a fool thing to
do; but when Donny told me what the old devil said, I was so mad
for a minute--"

Phoebe caught him again by the arm and pulled him forward.
"Grant! You're squeezing Vadnie to death, just about! Great
grief, I forgot all about the poor child being here! You poor
little--"

"Squeezing who?" Grant whirled, and caught a brief glimpse of a
crumpled little figure behind him, evidently too scared to cry,
and yet not quite at the fainting point of terror. He backed,
and began to stammer an apology; but she did not wait to hear a
word of it. For an instant she stared into his face, and then,
like a rabbit released from its paralysis of dread, she darted
past him and deaf up the stone steps into the house. He heard
the kitchen-door shut, and the click of the lock. He heard other
doors slam suggestively; and he laughed in spite of his
astonishment.

"And who the deuce might that be?" he asked, feeling in his
pocket for smoking material.