stidious
recoil. But this had gone, entirely, in a moment, and she was rushing
on, "And, Neale, what _do_ you think? She has worked on him, and he has
worked on himself till he's got himself in a morbid state. He thinks
perhaps he ought to leave Ashley that he loves so much and go down to
live where this horrid cousin lives. . . ."

Her husband's astonishment at this was as great as she could have
desired. None of Neale's usual, unsurprised acceptance of everything
that happened as being in the nature of things, which occasionally so
rubbed her the wrong way, and seemed to her so wilfully phlegmatic. He
was sincerely amazed and astounded; that was plain from his exclamation,
his tone, his face. Of course he wasn't as outraged as she, but that
wasn't to be expected, since he hadn't seen so much of that dear old
life-worn man, nor grown so protectingly fond of him. She revelled in
Neale's astonishment as bearing out her own feeling. "Isn't it crazy,
Neale! Don't you think it crazy! Is there the slightest justification
for it? You feel, just as I do, don't you, that it's a perfectly
unbalanced, fanatical, _fool_ish thing to think of doing, his going down
into that hopeless mess?"

But her husband had had a moment's time, while she exclaimed, to get
back to his usual unhurried post in life. "It's certainly about as
unexpected as anything I ever heard of," he admitted. "I should have to
know a lot more about it, before I could be sure what to think."

An old impatience, at an old variance between their ways of thought,
came out with an edge in Marise's tone as she said hotly, "Oh, _Neale_,
don't take that line of yours! You know all there is to know, now! What
else could you find out? You know how he's given all his life to looking
out for his family, ending up with years of that bed-ridden old aunt the
others wished on to him, just because he was too soft-hearted to get out
from under. You know how anxious the Company was to do something to make
up to him for all the years of service he gave them. And you know how
happy he has been here, how he's loved it all, and fathered every root
and seed in his garden, and how he and Paul have struck up such a sweet
affection, and how he could be happier and happier." She struck her
hands together. "Oh, Neale, I can't have him do such a foolish, useless
thing, and spoil his life! It's not as if he'd be of any use down in
Georgia. You know how the Southern white people detest Northern