"Mean anything! Why! she's sixteen," said Miss Zerviah, "and lots of girls get married at that age."
"Oh, why do their mothers let them?" cried Gwen.
"'Cause they done the same thing themselves," Miss Zerviah informed her; "and it's all right when the young man's a sober, industrious fellow, but Manny's lazy. There's no use in trying to get around it."
"I'm afraid he is," said Miss Phosie wofully.
"His father was lost at sea," Miss Zerviah went on, "and he was Almira Green's only brother, so she thinks she can't deny Emmanuel anything."
"Oh, that's his name, is it?" said Gwen. "I wondered what it could be."
"He always gets Manny," returned Miss Zerviah. "As I was saying, he's lazy, and moreover, I maintain that the man that's willin' to borrow from a woman, even if she is a near relation, is pretty poor shucks, generally speaking. Nine times out of ten she never gets it back. It does seem to me that a woman who's been a-scrimpin' herself all her life as Almira's done, and hasn't allowed herself any pleasures, has a right to her little savin's when she gits to where there's no youth left her to make up for the goings without. I'd like to know who's to look out for her when she's past lookin' out for herself. Yet she'll up and give over and over again to ease Manny's way for him, and to allow him to go off sky-larkin'. If she'd done a little more sky-larkin' herself he wouldn't have a chance to git what's her due and not his. I'm just put out about Almira."
"I hear she's going to take boarders, after all," said Miss Phenie.
"So she is, and that's what I'm fussing about. She determined she'd take a rest this summer, but I went to her house to-day and there she was whitewashin' and paperin', same as usual. 'What are you up to, Almira Green?' s'I. 'Gettin' ready for my boarders,' s'she. 'Boarders,' s'I. 'I thought you wasn't going to take 'em.' 'They wrote and wanted to come,' s'she, 'and somehow I don't seem to be able to get along without.' I was that put out I walked off without a word, for I know just as true as I'm settin' here, that Manny's been borrowin' again. He can fling around his money pretty free when it comes out of her pocket-book."
Miss Phosie looked distressed. She knew that Ora would reap the benefit of Almira's hard earnings. The girl was very young, very fond of pleasure, of the foolish little trinkets and baubles which Manny bestowed upon her. She was, moreover, a vain little person, who followed the example of her elder, rather than her younger, aunt, and was given to considering herself first, though she really had more heart than Miss Phenie. "I wish Ora wouldn't run with him," murmured Miss Phosie as Gwen passed from the room.