“Oh, there ain’t really nothin’ the matter with the Widow Larkin—­so fur’s smartness is concerned, there ain’t.

“And for five days more Kenelm ate his meals at Abbie’s and smoked and was happy, happier’n he’d been for months.

“Meantime, Hannah and Etta was visitin’ the President—­that is to say, they was lookin’ over the White House fence and sayin’ ‘My stars!’ and ‘Ain’t it elegant!’ Nights, when the sightseein’ was over, what they did mostly was to gloat over how mean and jealous they’d make the untraveled common tribe at sewin’ circle feel when they got back home.  They could just see themselves workin’ on the log-cabin quilt for the next sale, and slingin’ out little reminders like, ’Land sakes!  What we’re talkin’ about reminds me of what Etta and me saw when we was in the Congressional Libr’ry.  You remember that, Etta?’ And that would be Etta’s hint to look cute and giggle and say, ‘Well!  I should say I did!’ And all the rest of the circlers would smile kind of unhealthy smiles and try to look as if trips to Washington wa’n’t nothin’; they wouldn’t go if you hired ’em to.  You know the game if you’ve ever been to sewin’ circle.

“But all this plannin’ was knocked in the head by a letter that Hannah got on an afternoon about a week after she left home.  It was short but there was meat in it.  It said:  ’If you want to keep your brother from marryin’ Abbie Larkin you had better come home quick!’ ’Twas signed ’A Friend.’

“Did Hannah come home?  Well, didn’t she!  She landed at Orham the next night.  And she done some thinkin’ on the way, too.  She kept out of the way of everybody and went straight up to the house.  ’Twas dark and shut up, but the back door key was under the mat, as usual, so she got in all right.  The plants hadn’t been watered for two days, at least; the clock had stopped; the cat’s saucer was licked dry as a contribution box, and the critter itself was underfoot every second, whoopin’ for somethin’ to eat.  The whole thing pretty nigh broke Hannah’s heart, but she wa’n’t the kind to give up while there was a shot in the locker.

“She went to the closet and found that Kenelm’s Sunday hat and coat was gone.  Then she locked the back door again and cut acrost the lots down to Abbie’s.  She crept round the back way and peeked under the curtain at the settin’-room window.  There set Abbie, lookin’ sweet and sugary.  Likewise, there was Kenelm, lookin’ mighty comfortable, with a big cigar in his mouth and more on the table side of him.  Hannah gritted her teeth, but she kept quiet.

“About ten minutes after that Chris Badger was consider’ble surprised to hear a knock at the back door of his store and to find that ’twas Hannah that had knocked.

“‘Mr. Badger,’ says Hannah, polite and smilin’, ’I want to buy a box of the best cigars you’ve got.’

“‘Ma’am!’ says Chris, thinkin’ ’twas about time to send for the constable or the doctor—­one or t’other.