“This ain’t no Headless Horseman scare, Ma’am,” spoke Silas Malcom. “The Huntley dam is likely to give way at any minute.”
“I’ve heard that for weeks!” Mrs. Burmaster’s gaze was scornful. “Oh, I know you’ve hated us ever since we built this house! You’ve tried every imaginable trick to make us leave.”
“That ain’t true, ma’am,” Silas replied soberly.
Mrs. Burmaster’s angry gaze swept the group and came to rest on Mrs. Lear.
“That old witch who lives down the road has set you all against me!” she fairly screamed. “She’s lied and fought me at every turn!”
Mrs. Lear detached herself from the group. She spoke quietly but with suppressed fury.
“I’ve stood a lot from you in the past, Mrs. Burmaster,” she retorted. “But there ain’t no one alive can call me a witch!”
“Oh, I can’t?” Mrs. Burmaster mocked. “Well, you’re worse than an old witch!”
“At least I ain’t a sneak thief! I don’t go breakin’ into folks’ houses to steal the deed to their property!”
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing!”