“I know, but the cow never come of her own free will, ‘n’ it strikes me ’t Jathrop’s the one to blame.  I never was so done up in my life ’s I was when I hear this about you.  You kin believe me or not jus’ ’s you please, Mrs. Lathrop, but I was so nigh to struck dead ’t I stopped short with one leg on the station ‘n’ the other on the train.  It was Johnny ‘s dodged out o’ the ticket-office to tell me the minute the train stopped, ‘n’ I d’n’ know but I’d be there yet—­f’r I was clean struck all in a heap—­only a man jus’ behind jammed me with a case o’ beer ‘t he was bringin’ home.  To think ‘s I see you goin’ to the barn jus’ ‘s I was lookin’ f’r a place to hide my keys afore leavin’, ‘n’ then to think ’s them was your last legs ‘n’ you usin’ ’em ’s innocent ’s a grasshopper on a May mornin’!—­I tell you I was so used up I thought some o’ askin’ to be druv up here, but Johnny didn’t have no time to give pertickilers ’cause the telegraph begin to work jus’ at that very minute ‘n’ he had to dodge back to see what they wanted to tick him about, so I see ’t the wisest thing was to walk up ‘n’ find out f’r myself.  Besides, you c’n understand ’t if you was beyond hope I’d be nothin’ but foolish to pay a quarter to get to you in a hurry, ‘n’ I never was one to be foolish nor yet to waste quarters, ‘n’ so I come along through town, ‘n’ as a consequence I guess ’t I know ’s much ’s you know yourself now.”

Mrs. Lathrop looking duly inquisitive for details of her own accident, Miss Clegg advanced forthwith upon a seat and occupied it before beginning.

“I see Mrs. Macy first, ‘n’ she told me all as to how it happened.  She says you turned two back somersaults ‘n’ just missed squashin’ the cat, ‘n’ ’t young Dr. Brown told her ’t if he hadn’t been so busy plantin’ his garden to-day he certainly would ‘a’ felt ’t it ’d ‘a’ been nothin’ but right to diagnose you all over.  Mrs. Macy says she ain’t none too over-pleased ‘t the way he spoke, for, to her order o’ thinkin’, you had a pretty serious kick ‘n’ you’d ought to realize it.  She wanted me to ask you ’f he had you hang to the head-board while he give your leg a good hard jerk, ’cause she says ’t that’s the only real safe way to make all the bones come back into place; she says ’f you ain’t shattered you’re bound to come straight pervided the doctor jerks hard enough.  She says they did her lame leg that way over thirty years ago, ‘n’ she says ‘t, sittin’ down ‘n’ side by side, she’d bet anything ’t the minister ‘n’ all the deacons couldn’t pick out one from t’ other.  She says all her trouble comes when she walks.  Nights ‘n’ rockin’ she’d never know she was lame herself.”

Mrs. Lathrop looked slightly distressed.

“Gran’ma Mullins come up while we was talkin’, ‘n’ she’s terrible upset over you.  She never had no lameness, she says; her trouble ’s all in her ribs,—­them ribs ’t go from under your arms down.  But she wants to know if you was put in plaster, ‘n’ she said f’r me to ask right off.”