, but then his bones
begin to knit, 'n' she says she hopes she may fall dead then 'n' there
'f she ever hear anythin' to equal that leg-knittin'. She said they
was livin' so far out 't they could feel to leave him 'n' go to church
Sunday, 'n' she says when they was comin' back they could hear him
knittin' a good half-mile away."

"Dear, dear--" commented Mrs. Lathrop, giving a heave of unrest.

"Can you feel your leg now?" Susan inquired.

"Yes; I--"

"Then it 's all right so far, but, my! you mus' n't begin gettin'
restless this soon. You ain't been kicked six hours yet, 'n' you 've
got to lay that same way f'r six weeks. After a while it'll be pretty
bad, I expeck, but you ain't got nothin' to complain of to-day. I see
the minister just after I left Mrs. Macy, 'n' he said you must say to
yourself, 'Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof' 'n' get along
the best you can. I c'd see he was some put out over your gettin' a
cow, f'r he c'd n't but understand 't with a cow over the fence I was
n't goin' to be takin' milk from over the crick. He said 't your bein'
kicked was a judgment 'n' the sins o' the parents should be visited on
the children even unto the third 'n' fourth generation. I did n't know
whose sins he was meanin', the cow's or Jathrop's, but I did n't ask.
I guess we 'd ought to make allowances f'r the minister,--he ain't
seemed to ever be able to bear up under them twins. He was pushin' 'em
in the carriage to-day 'n' drawin' little Jane after him in a express
wagon. I asked him how his wife was, 'n' he said she's doin' nicely,
only she can't decide what to name the baby. He walked with me a
piece; it seemed to do him good to speak out frank 'n' open, 'n' I
guess he sees more 'n' more what a mistake he's made; he couldn't but
see it, I sh'd suppose, f'r his wife 's had four children in three
years, 'n' I didn't even adopt one. It's that four-in-three-years
business 't seems to 'a' used him up the most. He says he never even
had a idea 't it could be done. He says his first wife was so
different, 'n' he says it's just been shock after shock, 'n' two
shocks when the twins come. Little Jane caught her dress in a wheel
while we was talkin', 'n' we had to turn her 'n' the express-wagon
both upside down 't once afore we could unwind it, 'n' while we was
doin' that, one o' the twins fell out o' the carriage. The minister
says he don't thank no man to talk race-suicide when he's aroun'; he
says his blood run