That night she gnawed at her dry old poke,—
a painful meal, for the slivers ran
In her tongue; so she crouched by the high-
barred gate and seemed deserted of God and
man.
And Hoskins knew that they had his cow, and
Hoskins knew of her solemn fast,
For he’d gone up the highway and looked
through the gate in her dumb, reproachful eyes
as he passed.