“The devil, I reckon. When I woke up this mornin’ I thinks fer a minute I’m at Dan Goforth’s, where the roarin’s as steady as the wind in Peach Tree Gap. I couldn’t b’lieve I’s at Reenie’s. They all slept late, ’cause it’s Sunday, an’ Ben got up an’ built a fire. Then he kept tryin’ to git his mother up, ’cause she hadn’t pressed his pants the night before, an’ he wuz aimin’ to go to meetin’ on Nighthawk. He kept stompin’ around, and jerkin’ the cheers about, and then he begun to swear. Right then Len bounces out o’ bed. Maybe he wuz sleepy er something, an’ didn’t understand it, but anyway he jumps up when Ben begins swearin’, an’ takes up a cheer an’ runs him out o’ the house with it, an’ him ’thout shoes on an’ hit frosty.” “Len didn’t do that!” “I ain’t _astin’_ you to believe it.” “But he’s foolish about Ben.” “He’s a sight bigger fool about Reenie though, an’ I reckon maybe he thought Ben wuz cussin’ at her.” “Aunt Janey, this is terrible!” “I thought I’d drap by an’ tell ye. I felt like you ought to know there’s something spilin’ the peaceablest family in the settlement, and you’d better find out what it is.” Aunt Janey went off, leaving me to unhappy reflections. Toward night I had a visit from Len. Of old it had been his habit to call out some witty greeting as he approached, but now his appearance was pathos unrelieved. He took a chair and began to talk of far-off matters, but I refused to be led around Robin Hood’s barn, and hurried him, slightly bewildered, to the object of his visit. “We wuz gittin’ along all right,” he said, “till Reenie began to want ’tater patches in the moon.” “You are getting along all right now, Len. Isn’t that old store debt nearly paid, that you used to say kept you awake nights?” “Ay, that’s quit brogin’ round my bed, but I don’t mean things like that. I mean they ain’t any satisfaction in livin’. It’s been nigh three weeks sence Reenie set down by me an’ kept still long enough fer me to tie the first word to the next one. She’s cleanin’ up, er churnin’, er gittin’ the childern’s clo’s fixed fer school, er clearin’ something er other out o’ the way so she can put in a full day to-morr’, she says, like next day wouldn’t have any hours at all. She don’t hardly take time to nuss little Ross, an’ him lookin’ like he ain’t goin’ to be here another year.” “You’re looking better yourself, Len. You weigh more, don’t you?”