Everything about the old farmhouse was clean and orderly, as if the
green dooryard were not only swept, but dusted. I saw a flock of
turkeys stepping off carefully at a distance, but there was not the
usual untidy flock of hens about the place to make everything look in
disarray. William helped me out of the wagon as carefully as if I had
been his mother, and nodded toward the open door with a reassuring look
at me; but I waited until he had tied the horse and could lead the way,
himself. He took off his hat just as we were going in, and stopped for
a moment to smooth his thin gray hair with his hand, by which I saw
that we had an affair of some ceremony. We entered an old-fashioned
country kitchen, the floor scrubbed into unevenness, and the doors well
polished by the touch of hands. In a large chair facing the window
there sat a masterful-looking old woman with the features of a warlike
Roman emperor, emphasized by a bonnet-like black cap with a band of
green ribbon. Her sceptre was a palm-leaf fan.
William crossed the room toward her, and bent his head close to her ear.
"Feelin' pretty well to-day, Mis' Hight?" he asked, with all the voice
his narrow chest could muster.
"No, I ain't, William. Here I have to set," she answered coldly, but
she gave an inquiring glance over his shoulder at me.
"This is the young lady who is stopping with Almiry this summer," he
explained, and I approached as if to give the countersign. She offered
her left hand with considerable dignity, but her expression never
seemed to change for the better. A moment later she said that she was
pleased to meet me, and I felt as if the worst were over. William must
have felt some apprehension, while I was only ignorant, as we had come
across the field. Our hostess was more than disapproving, she was
forbidding; but I was not long in suspecting that she felt the natural
resentment of a strong energy that has been defeated by illness and
made the spoil of captivity.
"Mother well as usual since you was up last year?" and William replied
by a series of cheerful nods. The mention of dear Mrs. Blackett was a
help to any conversation.
"Been fishin', ashore," he explained, in a somewhat conciliatory voice.
"Thought you'd like a few for winter," which explained at once the
generous freight we had brought in the back of the wagon. I could see
that the offering was no surprise, and that Mrs. Hight was interested.
"Well, I expect they 're good as the last," she said, but did not even
approach a smile. She kept a straight, discerning eye upon me.
"Give the lady a cheer," she admonished William, who hastened to place
close by her side one of the straight-backed chairs that stood against
the kitchen wall. Then he lingered for a moment like a timid boy. I
could see that he wore a look of resolve, but he did not ask the
permission for which he evidently waited.
"You can go search for Esther," she said, at the end of a long pause
that became anxious for both her guests. "Esther 'd like to see her;"
and William in his pale nankeens disappeared with one light step and
was off.