“Mh—­um,” was Mammy’s non-committal lip-murmur, and Peggy wagged her head.  Mrs. Harold and Polly were spending the week at Severndale, and were dressing for breakfast.  Their rooms communicated with Peggy’s and they had been laughing and talking together when the ’phone message came.

“Mammy,” called Peggy.  “Please send word right down to Minervy.”

“Yas, baby, I sends it, and den yo’ watch out,” warned Mammy.

“What for?” asked Peggy.

“Fo’ dat ’oman.  She gwine mak one fuss dis time ef she never do again.”

“Nonsense, Mammy, I don’t believe she cares one straw anyway.  She is the most unfeeling creature I’ve ever seen.”

“She may be ONfeelin’ but she ain’ on-doin’, yo’ mark me,” and Mammy went off to do as she was bidden.

Perhaps twenty minutes had passed when the quiet of the lower floor was torn by wild shrieks and on-rushing footsteps, with voices vainly commanding silence and decorum:  commands all unheeded.  Then came a final rush up the stairs and Minervy distraught and dishevelled burst into Mrs. Harold’s room, and without pausing to see whom she was falling upon, flung her arms about that startled woman, shrieking: 

“He’s daid!  He’s daid!  Dem pore chillern is all widderless orphans.  I felt it a-comin’!  Who’ gwine feed an’ clothe and shelter dose pore lambs?  Ma heart’s done bruck!  Done bruck!”

“Minervy!  Minervy!  Do you know what you are doing!  Let go of Mrs. Harold this instant,” ordered Peggy, nearly overcome with mortification that her guest should meet with such an experience at Severndale.  “Do you hear me?  Control yourself at once.”

She strove to drag the hysterical creature from Mrs. Harold, but she might as well have tried to drag away a wild animal.  Minervy continued to shriek and howl, while Mammy, scandalized beyond expression, scolded and stormed, and Jerome called from the hall below.

Then Mrs. Harold’s sense of humor came to her rescue and she had an inspiration, for she promptly decided that there was no element of grief in Minervy’s emotions.

“Minerva, Minerva, have you ordered your mourning?  You knew Joshua could not live,” she cried.

Had she felled the woman with a blow the effect could not have been more startling.  Instantly the shrieks ceased and releasing her hold Minervy struck an attitude: 

“No’m, I hasn’t!  I cyant think how I could a-been so careless-like, an’ knowin’ all de endurin’ time dat I boun’ fer ter be a widder.  How could I a-been so light-minded?”

“Well, you have certainly got to have some black clothes right off.  It would be dreadful not to have proper mourning for Joshua.”

Meanwhile Peggy and Polly had fled into the next room.

“I sho’ mus’, ma’am.  How could I a-been so ‘crastinatin’ an’ po’ Joshua a-dyin’ all dese hyer weeks.  I am’ been ’spectful to his chillern; dat I ain’t.  Lemme go right-way an’ tink what I’s needin’.  But please ma’am, is yo’ a widder ‘oman?  Case ef yo’ is yo’s had spurrience an’ kin tell me bes’ what I needs.”