"Don't git excited, Miss. I'm here now, an' am in no hurry to go. I've got a word to say to these women. They seem to be somewhat uneasy. I guess they're all gittin' a change of heart by the look of things."
"They'll have heart failure, if you're not careful," Miss Tomkins warned. She was surprised at herself for her sudden burst of courage.
"Heart failure, eh?" and Abner viewed the women again. "My, that would be serious. Somethin' must be done."
He took a step toward them, and raised both hands above his head.
"Are yez ready to die?" he asked, in a deep voice. Screams followed this fearful statement, and several women hurried toward the door.
"No, ye don't git out yit," Abner declared, as he sprang forward, blocked the way, and stood with his back to the door. "Yez got me in here, an' yez think I'm luney. Now, I want to know if yez are all ready to die."
"No, we're not!" Mrs. Dugan replied, "and I'm surprised at you, Mr. Andrews, for frightening us this way. What in the world do you mean?"
Abner gazed at her for a few seconds, and then at the women behind her.
"Well, I was thinkin' if yez are not ready to die, an' if yez all are in danger of dyin' of heart failure, yez ought to have a change of heart right off. It might do yez a world of good. I've had it already, an' it makes me feel fine. Ask Tildy, an' she'll tell yez."
"Why, it was your wife who told us about you, and your strange actions," Mrs. Dugan explained. "She asked us all to meet you here, talk with you, and try to find out if anything is wrong."