It so happened that the day after the corn planting it became necessary to go to Union Mills in order to take a grist of corn to be ground. Madame suggested that Brother Wright should go, while Brother Dummy took up his plough-handles and finished the field the former was preparing for the corn. Mary Winkle, still prostrated by the previous day’s hard work, urged her spouse to go, “For then,” said she, “if you ain’t here I needn’t get any dinner. I’ll just send Willette over to Sister Olive’s for dinner, and I needn’t stir till milking time.” This seemed a happy arrangement, and her husband set off shortly after breakfast, picking up Aunt Ruby as he passed her cottage. “Be you lonesome living in that house by yourself?” asked Brother Wright as they jogged along over the prairie, for it had struck him as very lonely that morning as he drove up. “No, no, I ain’t lonely, least not most whiles,” answered Aunt Ruby, an alert little old woman, not unlike a bird in her quick movements. “In the summer-time there’s allus the chickens to see to an’ feed an’ ten’, an’ chickens is powerful spry an’ talkin’ birds. They most allus has somethin’ to scold an’ chatter ’bout, chickens an’ hens has, an’ cocks. Then in the winter I hev the clock tickin’ loud o’ evenin’s, an’ that’s most as good as a pusson in the room, an’ there’s allus the cat, an’ mostly the kettle singin’ on the stove. Come to think on’t, there’s a heap o’ company in a house like mine, if you on’y has ears to hear an’ un’erstan’ what is said by beasts an’ things.” Yet notwithstanding this “heap o’ company” Aunt Ruby dearly loved a good gossip with the saddler’s wife at Union Mills, whenever that luxury was attainable. On the present occasion Aunt Ruby had a real good time, for Brother Wright was delayed longer than usual, first in order to get some harness mended, and afterwards to have a shoe replaced that suddenly showed signs of coming off one of the horses. Thus it was very near sun-down before they left Union Mills. Aunt Ruby, owing in large measure to her gossip, and also partly to an exceptionally strong cup of tea, was in a highly nervous and excitable frame of mind.