"I don't know."
"Did you never see her before?"
"No, ma'am."
"What did she look like?"
Mary thought hard, with the puzzled face of one who lacks words and comparisons to convey an image that is clear enough. Calista walked a little way into the orchard, then she looked up and down the road.
"Wasn't it Mrs. Albrecht?" she asked. "Well, I guess it makes nothing. Come,
you must go to bed. I stay with you." With a mocking expression she held out her hand as to a very small child, and the little girl walked into the house without a word, not noticing the hand.
When she was asleep Calista came back to the porch with some sewing. Conrad appeared from the barn, stood about for a moment, and strolled toward the orchard; then he walked in the garden for a while; finally he sat on the step with his back to her, saying nothing and looking at the sky. She preserved the silence of a bird-tamer.
"It's a nice evening," he said at last.
"Yes."