Miss Margaret felt that it was time she took her leave.
"Look-ahere oncet, Teacher!" Mr. Getz suddenly said, fixing on her a suspicious and searching look, "do you uphold to novel-readin'?"
Miss Margaret hesitated perceptibly. She must shield Tillie even more than herself. "What a question to ask of the teacher at William Penn!" she gravely answered.
"I know it ain't such a wery polite question," returned Mr. Getz, half apologetically. "But the way you side along with childern ag'in' their parents suspicions me that the Doc was lyin' when he sayed them novel-books was hisn. Now was they hisn or was they yourn?"
Miss Margaret rose with a look and air of injury. "'Mr. Getz, no one ever before asked me such questions. Indeed," she said, in a tone of virtuous primness, "I can't answer such questions."
"All the same," sullenly asserted Mr. Getz, "I wouldn't put it a-past you after the way you passed your opinion to me this after!"
"I must be going," returned Miss Margaret with dignity.
Mrs. Getz came forward from the stove with a look and manner of apology for her husband's rudeness to the visitor.
"What's your hurry? Can't you stay and eat along? We're not anyways tired of you."
"Thank you. But they will be waiting for me at the hotel," said Miss Margaret gently.