At last, as the silence became unbearable to grandma, she said to Reinette: “I s’pose you don’t remember your mother.” Reinette shook her head, and grandma continued: “How old was you when she died?” “I don’t know.” “Don’t know how old you was when your mother died? That’s curis. Didn’t your father never tell you?” “No, madam.” “Wall, now. Don’t you think that’s singular?” and grandma looked at her daughter-in-law and Anna, the latter of whom seized the opportunity to spit out her venom, and said: “Not singular at all, and if I’s you, grandma, I wouldn’t bother Reinette with troublesome questions, for I’ve no idea that she ever heard of us until to-day, let alone her knowing how old she was when her mother died.” Anna spoke spitefully, and had the satisfaction of seeing the black eyes under the thin veil unclose and flash at her just once, while grandma replied: “Never heard of us till to-day! Never heard she had a grandmother! Be you crazy, Anny? Do you s’pose her father never told her of her mother’s folks? Rennet, do you hear that? I hope you can contradict it.” Thus appealed to Reinette roused herself, and in a voice choking with sobs, said: “Oh, please—don’t worry me now; by and by I can talk with you, but now—oh, father, father, why did you die and leave me here alone.” The sob was a wailing, heart-broken cry, and the little hands were upraised and beat the air in a paroxysm of nervous pain for an instant, then dropped helplessly, and Reinette never moved again until they turned into the cemetery and stopped before the Hetherton lot. Then she started, and throwing back her veil, said, hurriedly: “What is it? Are we there?” Grandma Ferguson, who, since Reinette’s pitiful outburst, had been crying softly to herself, wiped her eyes and said: “Yes, darling, this is the Hetherton lot. It has been left to run down this many a year, but will look better by and by. Hadn’t you better stay in the carriage? You can if you want to.” “No, no, oh, no. I must be with father,” Reinette replied, and opening the door herself, she sprang to the ground, and was first at the open grave, where she stood immovable until they began to lower the body. Then she exclaimed: “Oh, are there no flowers for him? Did no one bring a flower, when he loved them so much?” and her eyes flashed rebukingly upon those who had brought no flowers for the dead man. Then she was quiet again until there was a creaking sound in the ropes and the coffin slipped a little, when, with a cry of alarm, she sprang forward and bent over the grave as if to see that no harm was coming to her father. There was danger in her position, and Phil went quickly to her side, and laying his hand on her shoulder, said to her, very gently: “Please stand farther back. There is quicksand here, and the earth might crumble.”