"What colors are you going to dye, Jane?" asked Mrs. Wilson.
"Well," said Mrs. Deans, checking off the list on her fingers, "I've got hickory bark for yellow, and walnut shucks that I saved last fall for brown, and barberry stems to mix with bluing for green; and I've bought red and magenta and blue, and I was thinking that, being as I didn't want much color, that would be enough."
"Yes," said Mrs. Wilson, "I never care for a carpet that is just a mess of colored rags. I like a good deal of yellow, though. I seen one in the market the other day; a woman from Ovid had it for sale, and it was real neat-looking. It had a brier twist of yellow and black in the middle of the pattern, and a stripe of red at each side; then there was a wide piece of purple and a narrow stripe of green; the filling up was mixed, with a lot of blue in it, and she had it wove with red warp."
"I didn't get any purple," said Mrs. Deans, "but I might get it——"
"Say, wouldn't red and blue mix for purple?" asked Mrs. Wilson.
"Why, I don't know but they would! Where did she have hers wove?"
"Up to Skinner's at the Pinewoods," said Mrs. Wilson. "They do say the Skinnerses keeps back the rags and helps themselves to the warp; but the way I do is to weigh the warp and the rags, and then when I get the carpet back I weigh that."
"A very good way, too," agreed Mrs. Deans. "I'd like to see the carpet-wearer that would cheat me!"
"Have to get up early in the morning, eh, Jane?" said Mrs. Wilson, approvingly.
"Yes, earlier than before night," chuckled Mrs. Deans. "Suppose you heard Dan Follett was gone?"