"Old Pipe the potter had, besides a large family of children, a white pet dog, and for a joke this maid from Nazareth formed a compact with one John, the brother of James—"
"Where is that John now?"
"Keep quiet, Lena, or you will get me to weeping again and spoil the story. She and John caught the dog and hid him in the cellar of John's home, and a day or so after Magdalene started a rumor that she had seen something white floating in the lake, south of Tiberias, which looked like that dog. Old Pipe at once accused her of stealing and drowning his dog, but after an all day, fruitless search, she and John loosed the dog and sent him home. Somehow the joke got out, and old Pipe rent his garments and swore vengeance on the Sidehill Whirlwind. On the street, one day, he began to upbraid her, when she turned upon him with something she had heard her Aunt Susie tell about his family affairs which closed him up like a clam—had you not better rest again, Lena?"
"No, John, go on; I'm in no pain, only those spells of suffocation. I want you to tell this so you will remember I love you when I am gone."
Nicodemus now appeared with his cup, which revived her, and John continued, "When our Fall Gaily Day came on all the country around flocked to the Lake to see the fun; Jesus, James and Ruth came over from Nazareth."
"Yes, I remember; they stayed with Aunty and me, and Ruth stayed a week or more."
"Well, there were all kinds of sports and games, foot and horse racing, singing, dancing, etc., and then such a dinner as we had.
"Everybody wanted to see Magdalene run, and the best that could be done was to match the Sidehill Whirlwind with one of the Mur girls, a fleety family who lived on the hills in Safed. The Whirlwind gave the Mur girl twenty paces the start in a two hundred pace race, but she told her aunt and John's mother she feared Miss Mur had too great an advantage for her to ever overtake her.
"When the race was called and the word given, John remembers just how Lena looked, with her head thrown back, coming down the line just like a shooting star, when old Zerna, the fig peddler, attempted to cross the way and Magdalene's knee collided with the side of her head. The old woman spun around and around like a top as Magdalene fell on her hands and knees, but recovered in time to win."
"Did she win fair?"