alls SHORT of what he expected of
her. He's coined money, but she hasn't spent it in the ways he would.
Likely I shouldn't say it, but he strikes me as being just a leetle
mite too good for her."

"Oh, Mother!" said Kate.

"Now you lookey here," said Mrs. Bates. "Suppose you was a man of
Robert's brains, and education, and professional ability, and you made
heaps of money, and no children came, and you had to see all you
earned, and stood for, and did in a community spent on the SELFISHNESS
of one woman. How big would you feel? What end is that for the
ambition and life work of a real man? How would you like it?"

"I never thought of such a thing," said Kate.

"Well, mark my word, you WILL think of it when you see their home, and
her clothes, and see them together," said Mrs. Bates.

"She still loves pretty clothing so well?" asked Kate.

"She is the best-dressed woman in the county, and the best looking,"
said Mrs. Bates, "and that's all there is to her. I'm free to say with
her chances, I'm ashamed of what she has, and hasn't made of herself.
I'd rather stand in your shoes, than hers, this minute, Katie."

"Does she know I'm here?" asked Kate.

"Yes. I stopped and told her on my way out, this morning," said Mrs.
Bates. "I asked them to come out for Sunday dinner, and they are
coming."

"Did you deliver the invitation by force?" asked Kate.

"Now, none of your meddling," said Mrs. Bates. "I got what I went
after, and that was all I wanted. I've told her an' told her to come
to see you during the last three years, an' I know she WANTED to come;
but she just had that stubborn Bates streak in her that wouldn't let
her change, once her mind was made up. It did give us a purty severe
jolt, Kate, havin' all that good Bates money burn up."

"I scarcely think it jolted any of you more than it did me," said Kate
dryly.

"No, I reckon it didn't," said Mrs. Bates. "But they's no use hauling
ourselves over the coals to go into that. It's past. You went out to
face life bravely enough and it throwed you a boomerang that cut a
circle and brought you back where you started from. Our arrangements
for the future are all made. Now it's up to us to live so that we get
the most out of life for us an' the children. Those are mighty nice
children of yours, Kate. I take to that boy something amazin', and the
girl is the nicest little old lady I've seen in many a day. I think we
will like knittin' and sewin'