"Hannah Hinton!"
"God have mercy! Who are you?"
Hannah seized the spade and brandished it, with hands that shook from terror.
"You wicked woman, do you want to kill me? Put down that spade."
Regina advanced, but the old woman retreated, still waving the spade.
"Hannah, are you afraid of me?"
"Good Lord! Is it you, Regina?"
"Your sin makes you a coward. Did you really think me a ghost?"
"It is true, I am afraid of everything now, even of my own shadow, and once I was so brave. But what are you doing here? I thought you were crippled? What are you tracking me for?"
She threw down the spade, ran forward, and seized the girl's shoulder, while a scowl of mingled fear and rage darkened her countenance.