She went to the door with her guests.  Mrs. Babcock spread her green umbrella, and descended the steps with a stiff side-wise motion.

“It is hotter than ever, I do believe,” she groaned.

“Well, now, I was jest thinkin’ it was a little grain cooler,” returned Mrs. Green, following in her wake.  Her back was meekly bent; her face, shaded by a black sun-hat, was thrust forward with patient persistency.  “There, I feel a little breeze now,” she added.

“I guess all the breeze there is, is in your own motion,” retorted Mrs. Babcock.  Her green umbrella bobbed energetically.  She fanned at every step.

“Mebbe it’s your fan,” said the other woman.

Amanda went into the house and shut the door.  She stood in the middle of the parlor and looked around.  There was a certain amaze in her eyes, as if everything wore a new aspect.  “They can talk all they’ve a mind to,” she muttered, “it’s a great undertakin’.  S’pose anything happened?  If anything happened to them whilst they were gone, there’s folks enough to home to see to things.  S’pose anything happened to me, there ain’t anybody.  If I go, I’ve got to leave this house jest so.  I’ve got to be sure the bureau drawers are all packed up, an’ things swept an’ dusted, so folks won’t make remarks.  There’s other things, too.  Everything’s got to be thought of.  There’s the cat.  I s’pose I could get Abby Green to come over an’ feed her, but I dassen’t trust her.  Young girls ain’t to be depended on.  Ten chances to one she’d get to carryin’ on with that Fay girl an’ forgit all about that cat.  She won’t lap her milk out of anything but a clean saucer, neither, and I don’t believe Abby would look out for that.  She always seemed to me kind of heedless.  I dunno about the whole of it.”

Amanda shook her head; her eyes were dilated; there was an anxious and eager expression in her face.  She went into the kitchen, kindled the fire, and made herself a cup of tea, which she drank absently.  She could not eat anything.

The cat came mewing at the door, and she let her in and fed her.  “I dunno how she’d manage,” she said, as she watched her lap the milk from the clean saucer beside the cooking-stove.

After she had put away the cat’s saucer and her own tea-cup, she stood hesitating.

“Well, I don’t care,” said she, in a decisive tone; “I’m goin’ to do it.  It’s got to be done, anyhow, whether I go or not.  It’s been on my mind for some time.”

Amanda got out her best black dress from the closet, and sat down to alter the shoulder seams.  “I don’t care nothin’ about this muslin sacque,” said she, “but I ain’t goin’ to have Mis’ Babcock measurin’ my shoulder seams every single minute if I do go, an’ they may be real dressy down where Mis’ Field is.”

Amanda sewed until ten o’clock; then she went to bed, but she slept little.  She was up early the next morning.  Adoniram Babcock came over about eight o’clock; the windows and blinds were all flung wide open, the braided rugs lay out in the yard.  He put his gentle grizzled face in at one of the windows.  There was a dusty odor.  Amanda was sweeping vigorously, with a white handkerchief tied over her head.  Her delicate face was all of a deep pink color.