tead of 'spanked school-boys' as they feel now--no
wonder the whole posse of us hate you."

Directly opposite the door Kate caught the table and drew it with her
to bar the opening. As it crashed against the casing half the dishes
flew to the floor in a heap. When Adam Bates pulled it from his path
he stepped in a dish of fried potatoes and fell heavily. Kate reached
the road, climbed in the buggy, and said the Nancy Ellen: "You'd
better hide! Cut a bundle of stuff and send it to me by Adam and I'll
sew my fingers to the bone for you every night. Now drive like sin,
Adam!"

As Adam Bates came lurching down the walk in fury the buggy dashed past
and Kate had not even time to turn her head to see what happened.

"Take the first turn," she said to Adam. "I've done an awful thing."

"What did you do?" cried the boy.

"Asked him as nicely as I could; but he threw a chair at me. Something
funny happened to me, and I wasn't afraid of him at all. I dodged it,
and finished what I was saying, and another chair came, so the two
Bates went at it."

"Oh, Kate, what did you do?" cried Adam.

"Went inside and ran around the dining table while I told him what all
his sons and daughters think of him. 'Spanked school-boys' and all--"

"Did you tell him my father said that?" he demanded.

"No. I had more sense left than that," said Kate. "I only said all
his boys FELT like that. Then I pulled the table after me to block the
door, and smashed half the dishes and he slipped in the fried potatoes
and went down with a crash--"

"Bloody Murder!" cried young Adam, aghast.

"Me, too!" said Kate. "I'll never step in that house again while he
lives. I've spilled the beans, now."

"That you have," said Adam, slacking his horse to glance back. "He is
standing in the middle of the road shaking his fist after you."

"Can you see Nancy Ellen?" asked Kate.

"No. She must have climbed the garden fence and hidden behind the
privet bush."

"Well, she better make it a good long hide, until he has had plenty of
time to cool off. He'd have killed me if he had caught me, after he
fell--and wasted all those potatoes already cooked----"

Kate laughed a dry hysterical laugh, but the boy sat white-faced and
awed.

"Never mind," said Kate, seeing how frightened he was. "When he has
had plenty of time he'll cool off; but he'll never get over it. I hope
he doesn't beat Mother, because I was born."

"Oh, drat such a man!" said yo