ly were herself
and her daughter-in-law, and that neither had left the room since the
tea had been brought in.)

My sister and Mrs. Ning protested, and even I managed to add a few
polite words. But my thoughts were not so courteous. Stay for dinner!
What an idea! Why, that would mean that we would not be home before
the middle of the afternoon at the earliest! And besides, the meal
would probably be some miserable stuff that I could hardly force down!
Oh, well, likely she was only asking us in order to be polite, and did
not really mean it!

With great difficulty we made our way toward the door. Mrs. Woo and
her daughter-in-law hung on us until we could hardly move, protesting
loudly that they would not think of letting us leave. My blood began
to boil. I guess we had the right to go home when we wanted to! They
were actually trying to force us to stay! Well, I would not stay in
any case now! This was just too much!

We had reached the open door, and just then caught sight of an old
woman hobbling rapidly across the yard toward us.

"Oh, Girlie's second great-aunt!" called Mrs. Woo. "Here you are at
last! Why didn't you come sooner?"

"Well, I had company, and I just couldn't get away. But finally my
daughter-in-law came back, and I left them with her and came as
quickly as I could. I was so afraid that the teachers would be gone.
But, oh, surely you're not leaving?"

"Oh, no, of course they're not leaving! You don't think that I would
let them come under my roof and not keep them to a meal! It will be
nothing like they're used to, of course; but still a meal is a meal!
Now, just sit down, teachers, please, and Mrs. Ning. Girlie's second
great-aunt has wanted to believe for some time, but her son is very
mean to her, and he won't let her go to church. Do you think that she
could believe at home?"

I could not believe my eyes. My sister and Mrs. Ning sat down
obediently and began to talk very sympathetically with the old woman
who had just come. What! Were they actually going to stay to dinner?
And not a word to me, just as if what I wanted did not matter at all!
_They_ could talk to this old lady, and tell her about the Lord, but
all _I_ could do was just sit! Of course I was supposed to listen; but
one could not put her brain to listening to this queer Chinese _all_
day long! And what about all those things that I had wanted to get
done?

The dinner was no better than I expected. In fact, it was worse.
Girl