"Yes'm. She cleans it and fills it herself, and she puts it out every

morning. She don't never let me touch it."

"Why does she keep it there?"

"D' know. She d' know, neither."

"Why, Hepsey, what do you mean? Why does she do it if she doesn't know

why she does it?"

"D'know.'Cause she wants to, I reckon."

"She's been gone a week, hasn't she?"

"No'm. Only six days. It'll be a week to-morrer."

Hepsey's remarks were short and jerky, as a rule, and had a certain

explosive force.

"Hasn't the lamp been lighted since she went away?"

"Yes'm. I was to do it till you come, and after you got here I was to

ask you every night if you'd forgot it."

Ruth smiled because Aunt Jane's old-fashioned exactness lingered in her

wake. "Now see here, Hepsey," she began kindly, "I don't know and you

don't know, but I'd like to have you tell me what you think about it."

"I d' know, as you say, mum, but I think--" here she lowered her

voice--"I think it has something to do with Miss Ainslie."

"Who is Miss Ainslie?"

"She's a peculiar woman, Miss Ainslie is," the girl explained, smoothing

her apron, "and she lives down the road a piece, in the valley as, you

may say. She don't never go nowheres, Miss Ainslie don't, but folks goes

to see her. She's got a funny house--I've been inside of it sometimes

when I've been down on errands for Miss Hathaway. She ain't got no

figgered wall paper, nor no lace curtains, and she ain't got no rag

carpets neither. Her floors is all kinder funny, and she's got heathen

things spread down onto'em. Her house is full of heathen things, and

sometimes she wears'em."

"Wears what, Hepsey? The 'heathen things' in the house?"

"No'm. Other heathen things she's got put away somewheres. She's got

money, I guess, but she's got furniture in her parlour that's just like

what Miss Hathaway's got set away in the attic. We wouldn't use them

kind of things, nohow," she added complacently.

"Does she live all alone?"

"Yes'm. Joe, he does her errands and other folks stops in sometimes, but

Miss Ainslie ain't left her front yard for I d' know how long. Some says

she's cracked, but she's the best housekeeper round here, and if she

hears of anybody that's sick or in trouble, she allers sends'em things.

She ain't never been up here, but Miss Hathaway, she goes down there

sometimes, and she'n Miss Ainslie swaps cookin' quite regler. I have to

go down there with a plate of somethin' Miss Hathaway's made, and Miss

Ainslie allers says: 'Wait just a moment, please, Hepsey, I would like

to send Miss Hathaway a jar of my preserves.'"




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