know what did possess her.  She never see a cow that near in all her life before, ‘n’ she says ’f that ’s the way they look face to, she ain’t surprised ’t folks sit a little back when milkin’.  It was nigh to on to her, ‘n’ you know yourself ’t the bridge is narrow ‘n’ Mrs. Macy ain’t.  Well, Mrs. Lathrop, you c’n believe me or not jus’ ’s you please, ’cause it ’ll be Mrs. Macy ’s you ‘ll be doubtin’ anyhow, but this is what she says happened.  The bridge is here, you know,” Susan laid off the plan on her knee, “‘n’ the road is here.  The cow was runnin’ like mad along here, ‘n’ Mrs. Macy was white ‘n’ tremblin’ so ’t the whole bridge shook under her, right atop of it.  She says to her dyin’ day she ‘ll never see how she done it, but she jus’ grabbed her skirts, spread ’em out wide ‘n’ said ‘Shoo!’ ’s loud ’s she could.  Her story is ’t the cow stopped, like she was struck dumb that second; then she reared up ’s pretty a rear ’s Mrs. Macy ’ll ever ask to see, ‘n’ then she fell sideways into the mill-race.  The water was on full ‘n’ she went right down ‘n’ into the mill-wheel, ‘n’ some of her caught in it ‘n’ she could n’t budge.  It squinched her right up, ‘n’ she kicked some, ‘n’ mooed some, ‘n’ bust the wheel some, ‘n’ died.

“But Mrs. Macy wa’n’t wastin’ no time or words on the cow.  She was walkin’ ’s fast ’s she could along to where the nearest noise was comin’ from.

“First she found Mr. Jilkins sittin’ on a stump pickin’ parasol out o’ himself ‘n’ swearin’ in a way ’s Mrs. Macy hopes to be spared hereafter.  While she was jus’ bridge side o’ him, Mrs. Jilkins come scramblin’ up out o’ the ditch madder ’n sixty-five hornets.  Seems she ’d got most to the top twice, ‘n’ it was so slippery ’t she’d slid clean back to the bottom again.  Mrs. Macy says the Lord forgive her all her sins forever ‘n’ ever, ’f she ever see such a sight afore.  She tried to wring her out in spots, but she was way beyond wringin’.  Besides, Mrs. Macy says she ain’t been a widow so long but what she see ’t a glance ’t they ’d be better ‘n’ happier without no third party by, ‘n’ so she left ’em ‘n’ went on to where the minister ‘n’ his family was feebly tryin’ to put themselves together again.  Polly Allen ‘n’ Sam was there helpin’ ’em, ‘n’ Mrs. Allen was up on the porch with the minister’s wife.  Seems ‘t was her first sittin’ up, ‘n’ they ‘d got her out in a rocker to see him come home jus’ in time to see him run over.  She took on awful ’cause she thought ’t he was killed, sure, ‘n’ then when she found ’t he was n’t, the shock done her up completely.  They had to put her straight back in bed, ‘n’ then they put the minister ’n his broken nose in with her ‘n’ went to work on the rest o’ ’em.  Sam Duruy got young Dr. Brown there ’s quick ’s he could, ‘n’ young Dr. Brown took off his coat ‘n’ rolled up his sleeves ‘n’ jus’ went for ’em.  He got the bandagin’ ’s was ordered for your leg, ‘n’ used it right up on the minister’s family.  He sent