The woman stopped her work to pity me, and drops of egg dripped from the fork-tines like yellow tears. I fell to crying then.
"It seems she's some related to Captain Tenney's folks," said the whistling man, ending with another love-pat, and "Poor Sissy!"
But even those insulting words could not stop my crying this time.
"Leave her to me, Peter," said the woman. "Most likely she's afraid of men folks."
The man went away, to my great relief, and she took my bonnet and cloak, and then made me tell her all about my trials, while she beat time with her fork. My mouth once open, I talked steadily, giving the complete history of my life between my sobs,—only leaving out my lie about the hatchet.
"Something cut my foot and I go a little lame, or I could have catched that kitty,—she has white pors. But does the railroad have any right to run off and leave folks that's bought tickets?"
"Never mind, dear, you're welcome to stay over with us. Brother Peter and I never calculate to turn folks away while we have a crust to eat, or a roof to cover us."
"O, dear, what poor people!" I ought not to stay. But it seemed they were to have something to-night better than crusts. Harr'et was frying pancakes,—how could she afford it?—and shaking them out of the kettle with a long-handled skimmer into a pan in a chair. She brought me one, which she called her "try-cake;" but it didn't look like Ruth's, and I was too homesick to eat; so I managed to slip it into my pocket.
Harr'et wore heavy calfskin shoes, and shook the house fearfully when she walked. I couldn't help thinking of what she had said about the roof, and it seemed as if it might fall any minute and "cover us," sure enough.
While I sat on the door-step watching her, all forlorn, she drew out a red armchair, gave it a little twitch, as you would to a sunshade, and lo! it turned into a table, with a round top. Then she covered it with a cloth, from a drawer in the chair part of the table, and put on some green and white dishes.