"Oh, yes, a visit,—for her. She a'n't no great hand to make long stops, ye know."
"Only when she's needed," said Sophronia; "then she never thinks of going as long as she sees anything to do. Reuben! you mustn't talk, Reuben!"
"I was saying," remarked Neighbor Jepworth, "it'll be too bad now, if you have to give up this place; but he"——
Sophronia, unseen by her husband, made anxious signs to the speaker to avoid so distressing a topic in the invalid's presence.
"We are not going to worry about that'," she hastened to say. "After we have been favored by Providence so far, and in such extraordinary ways, we think we can afford to trust still further. We have all we can think of and attend to to-day; and the future will take care of itself."
"That's right; that's the way to talk!" said Mr. Ducklow. "Providence 'll take care of ye, you may be sure!"
"I should think you might get Ditson to renew the mortgage," observed Neighbor Ferring. "He can't be hard on you, under such circumstances. And he can't be so foolish as to want the money. There's no security like real estate. If I had money to invest, I wouldn't put it into anything else."
"Nor I," said Mr. Ducklow; "nothin' like real estate!"—with an expression of profound conviction.
"What do you think of Gov'ment bonds?" asked Neighbor Jepworth.
"I don't know." Mr. Ducklow scratched his cheek and wrinkled his brow with an expression of thoughtfulness and candor. "I haven't given much attention to the subject. It may be a patriotic duty to lend to Gov'ment, if one has the funds to spare."