“To be shown that she was wrong about you, and to know that she ought to beg your pardon for what she said. I don’t know that she ever would beg your pardon, because lots of people are queer, but it would be about as bad a thing for her as I can think of if she came to know that she ought to do it. Wouldn’t it?”
“I don’t know much about folks,” said Catty. “Maybe so.”
“If you were to run away now you never could make her feel that way, could you?”
“No.”
“Catty, there is something you would like to have very much.”
Catty looked at Dad quicklike and then looked away.
“It’s the respect of people,” said Dad, quietlike and kind of gentle.
“Jest because we’re shiftless they think we’re bad,” said Catty. “We ain’t. We mind our own business and never do no damage to anybody.”
“But things like this that happened to-day have happened before, haven’t they? And you’re afraid they’ll happen again?”
“I’m not afraid they’ll happen, but I know they’ll happen.”