een tossed to her feet, her face
quickly becoming normal and compassionate again.

"Oh, I didn't mean to do that! I hope I hain't hurt it none," she
apologized, frankly distressed.

"Well, seein' 'at you didn't touch it, I 'low there ain't no great harm
done. I was only providin' against futur' trouble. Now go on with your
'trampy' talk."

By this time Susanna was able to give an account of the man she had seen
on Madam Sturtevant's premises, and who, when she ran, had soon followed
in pursuit. According to her highly embellished version, his attire had
been collected from somebody's rag-bag, his hair and beard had never
known shears or razor, his eyes were as big as saucers and gleamed with
an unholy light, and his color was like chalk. But fierce! There was no
word could describe the ferocity of the terrible creature's pallid
countenance! and, as for speed--Well, Susanna herself had made the
record of her life, yet he, with several minutes' disadvantage, had
actually overtaken her and grabbed at her shawl. Witness! said shawl
dragging behind her when she entered.

"Hm-m! What puzzles me is that any tramp--any tramp in his
senses--should take after an old woman like you, Susanna. An' how in
reason did you get a chance to investigate the cut of his features an'
the state of his wardrobe in the dark, as it is?" inquired Moses,
humorously.

But there was no humor in Susanna's grim countenance, as she
contemptuously replied:

"How but by the lightnin'? Playin' all around everything every minute,
makin' more'n daylight to see by. An', though I was scared nigh to
death, for the soul of me, I couldn't help lookin' 'round every now an'
again to see what he was like. I'd never had a chance to see a tramp
afore, an' I never expect to again, so I had to improve my opportunity,
hadn't I? Scared or no scared."

This view of the situation made both her hearers laugh; but in Moses'
mind was slowly growing a desperate regret, which finally expressed
itself in the exclamation:

"An' to think I hadn't even been elected constable, an' hadn't no chance
to arrest the first tramp an' vagrant ever set foot in this village of
Marsden!"

Back at the Mansion there was no further disturbance. Madam Sturtevant
comforted herself with the supposition that her grandson was at the home
of some boyish chum or other; and she even ate a considerable portion of
the now cold porridge, steadfastly refusing Alfy's entreaty to take some
of the g