"You hear me!"
"I.W.! Don't holler at her; she—"
"She ain't your boss? Well, she just is your boss! You take back them words and say you're sorry! You apologize to your mother!" Immediate sobs were rumbling up through Miss Goldstone.
"Well, she—I—I didn't do anything. She's down on him. She—"
"Oh, Effie, would I say anything if it wasn't for your own good?"
"You—you were down on him from the start!"
"Effie darling, you must be mad! Would I say anything if it wasn't for our girl's good to—"
"I—oh, Mamma Hat, I'm sorry, darling! I never meant a word. I didn't! I didn't, darling!"
They embraced there in the shrouding darkness, the tears flowing.
"Oh, Effie—Effie!"