She loves us as
well as ever, I feel sure."

"Well, ef she ain't too stuck up to notice us, her ma's too proud to
let her," retorted Mrs. Rogers. "I allus said thet in spite uv Jane's
meechin' ways, she felt herse'f above us. We ain't got blue blood in
our veins. We ain't kin to the Temples an' Blairs an' Goodloes, and the
rest uv them ristahcrats."

"Mrs. Gilcrest always treats me well when I go there," answered Susan,
"and as for Betsy," she continued, her cheeks flushing and her eyes
shining, "she's the truest, sweetest girl that ever lived."

"Then, why don't she come to see us lak she usetah?" demanded Mrs.
Rogers.

Susan said nothing, but involuntarily glanced at Abner. Their eyes met;
Susan quickly averted hers, and he thought, "I wonder if Susan knows!"

"Thah's her pap, too," Mrs. Rogers went on, "he's gittin' crusty an'
stiff-lipped ez a sore-eyed b'ar."

"Hiram ain't hisse'f jes' now," interposed Mason; "he's plum crazy kaze
folks ain't ready to jump on Brothah Stone an' t'ar him limb frum limb.
Hiram's daft on whut he calls pure faith an' docturn, an' is allus
boastin' thet his ancestry wuz burnt et the stakes, way back in them
dark ages, fur ther religion."

"Religion! sich carryin'-on ain't no religion," exclaimed Mrs. Rogers.
"'Tain't nothin' but stubbunness an' devilment, an' it'd be a good
thing, I say, ef Hirum could be tied up an' sco'ched a bit hisse'f."

"Well, well, he's a good man et bottom," replied her husband. "We hev
lived neighbors ovah twenty year, an' he's allus been ready to do us a
good turn, in sickness, in health an' in trouble. As fur his wife, I
wondah, Cynthy Ann, thet you kin find it in yer heart to say aught
ag'in her. Hev you furgot thet wintah the twins wuz borned, an' I wuz
crippled up with rheumatiz, an' the niggahs down with the measles, how
she sent ole Dilsey (though Jane hed a young baby herse'f, an' could
ill spar' the niggah) to wait on us? Ez fur Betsy," with a sly look at
Abner, "I agree with Cissy; she's the smartest, purtiest gal in these
parts, an' good an' true ez she is purty."

One Saturday afternoon in February, Betsy did come to see Susan Rogers.
Mrs. Rogers had gone to spend the afternoon at a neighbor's, and Abner,
who had been felling trees at his own place, did not return to the
house until just as Betsy was leaving. With a timidity born of
self-consciousness, Betsy grew still and embarrassed, and soon
afterwards rose to go. "It gets dark so early