ent's wife.
She had just begun it, had woven only a few inches, on that dreadful
morning when the news of Alessandro's death reached her. It was of her
favorite pattern, the "hit-er-miss" pattern, as she called it; no set
stripes or regular alternation of colors, but ball after ball of the
indiscriminately mixed tints, woven back and forth, on a warp of a
single color. The constant variety in it, the unexpectedly harmonious
blending of the colors, gave her delight, and afforded her a subject,
too, of not unphilosophical reflection.

"Wall," she said, "it's called ther 'hit-er-miss' pattren; but it's
'hit' oftener'n 'tis 'miss.' Thar ain't enny accountin' fur ther way
ther breadths'll come, sometimes; 'pears like 't wuz kind er magic, when
they air sewed tergether; 'n' I allow thet's ther way it's gwine ter
be with heaps er things in this life. It's jest a kind er 'hit-er-miss'
pattren we air all on us livin' on; 'tain't much use tryin' ter reckon
how 't 'll come aout; but the breadths doos fit heaps better 'n yer'd
think; come ter sew 'em, 'tain't never no sech colors ez yer thought
't wuz gwine ter be; but it's allers pooty, allers; never see a
'hit-er-miss' pattren 'n my life yit, thet wa'n't pooty. 'N' ther wa'n't
never nobody fetched me rags, 'n' hed 'em all planned aout, 'n' jest
ther way they wanted ther warp, 'n' jest haow ther stripes wuz ter come,
'n' all, thet they wa'n't orful diserpynted when they cum ter see 't
done. It don't never look's they thought 't would, never! I larned thet
lesson airly; 'n' I allers make 'em write aout on a paper, jest ther
wedth er every stripe, 'n' each er ther colors, so's they kin see it's
what they ordered; 'r else they'd allers say I hedn't wove 't's I wuz
told ter. I got ketched thet way oncet! I allow ennybody's a bawn fool
gits ketched twice runnin' ther same way. But fur me, I'll take ther
'hit-er-miss' pattren, every time, sir, straight along."

When the carpet was done, Aunt Ri took the roll in her own independent
arms, and strode with it to the Agent's house. She had been biding the
time when she should have this excuse for going there. Her mind was
burdened with questions she wished to ask, information she wished to
give, and she chose an hour when she knew she would find the Agent
himself at home.

"I allow yer heered why I wuz behind time with this yere carpet," she
said; "I wuz up ter San Jacinto Mounting, where thet Injun wuz murdered.
We brung his widder 'n' t