"Only a yard?" inquired the clerk, in some surprise.
"That will do," said Rachel, nervously, coloring a little, as though the use which she designed for it might be suspected.
She paid for the ribbon, and presently returned.
"Does your head feel any better, Rachel?" asked Mrs. Harding.
"A little," answered Rachel.
"You've been sewing too steady lately, perhaps?" suggested Martha.
"Perhaps I have," assented Rachel.
"You ought to spare yourself. You can't stand work as well as when you were younger," said Martha, innocently.
"A body'd think I was a hundred by the way you talk," said Rachel, sharply.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Rachel. I thought you might feel as I do. I get tired easier than I used to."