I seen I was to blame somehow, and I wisht then I hadn't said nothing about Hank being a corpse. And I made up my mind I wouldn't say nothing more. So when she grabs holt of me and asts me agin what did I mean I blubbered harder, jest the way a kid will, and says nothing else. I wisht I hadn't set them flatirons on that door, fur it come to me all at oncet that even if Hank _has_ turned into a corpse I ain't got any right to keep him in that cistern. Jest then Old Mis' Rogers, which is one of our neighbours, comes by, while Elmira is shaking me and yelling out what did I mean and how did it happen and had I saw it and where was Hank's corpse? And Mis' Rogers she says, “What's Danny been doing now, Elmira?” me being always up to something. Elmira she turned around and seen her, and she gives a whoop and then hollers out: “Hank is dead!” and throws her apern over her head and sets right down in the path and boo-hoos like a baby. And I bellers louder. Mis' Rogers, she never waited to ast nothing more. She seen she had a piece of news, and she's bound to be the first to spread it, like they is always a lot of women wants to be in them country towns. She run right acrost the road to where the Alexanderses lived. Mis' Alexander, she seen her coming and unhooked the screen door, and Mis' Rogers she hollers out before she reached the porch: “Hank Walters is dead.” And then she went footing it up the street. They was a black plume on her bunnet which nodded the same as on a hearse, and she was into and out of seven front yards in five minutes. Mis' Alexander, she runs acrost the street to where we was, and she kneels down and puts her arm around Elmira, which was still rocking back and forth in the path, and she says: “How do you know he's dead, Elmira? I seen him not more'n an hour ago.” “Danny seen it all,” says Elmira. Mis' Alexander turned to me, and wants to know what happened and how it happened and where it happened. But I don't want to say nothing about that cistern. So I busts out bellering fresher'n ever, and I says: “He was drunk, and he come home drunk, and he done it then, and that's how he cone it,” I says. “And you seen him?” she says. I nodded. “Where is he?” says she and Elmira, both to oncet. But I was scared to say nothing about that there cistern, so I jest bawled some more. “Was it in the blacksmith shop?” says Mis' Alexander. I nodded my head agin and let it go at that.