We kept Senda with us as long as we could, and when at length she put her foot down so that you might have heard it--say like the dropping of a nut in the wood--and declared that go she must-must-must! we first laughed, then scoffed, and then grew violent, and the battle forced her backward. But when we tried to salary her to stay, _she_ laughed, scoffed, grew violent, and retook her entrenchments. And then, when she offered the ultimatum that we must take pay for keeping her, we took our turn again at the three forms of demonstration, and a late moon rose upon a drawn battle. Since then we have learned to count it one of our dearest rights to get "put out" at Senda's outrageous reasonableness, but she doesn't fret, for "sare is neveh any sundeh viss se lightening." The issue of this first contest was decided the next day by Fontenette, still on his bed of convalescence. "Can I raise enough money in yo' office to go at France?" "You can raise twice enough, Fontenette, if it's to try to bring back some new business." "Well--yes, 'tis for that. Of co'se, besides--" "Yes, I know: of course." "But tha'z what puzzle' me. What I'm going do with that house heah, whilse I'm yondeh! I wou'n' sell it--ah no! I wou'n' sell one of those roses! An' no mo' I wou'n' rent it. Tha's a monument, that house heah, you know?" "Yes, I know." He never found out how well I knew. "Fontenette, I'll tell you what to do with it." "No, you don't need; I know whad thad is. An' thaz the same I want--me. Only--you thing thad wou'n' be hasking her too much troub'?" "No, indeed. There's nothing else you could name that she'd be so glad to do." When I told Senda I had said that, the tears stood in her eyes. "Ah, sat vass ri-ight! O, sare shall neveh a veed be in sat karten two dayss oldt! An' sose roses--sey shall be pairfect ever' vun!" XXIV As perfect as roses every one were her words kept. And Fontenette got his new business but could not come back that year, nor the second, nor the third. The hither-side of his affairs he assigned for the time to a relative, a very young fellow, but ever so capable--"a hustler," as our fat friend would say in these days. We missed the absentee constantly, but forgave his detention the easier because incidentally he was clearing up a matter of Senda's over there, in which certain displeased kindred had overreached her. Also because of his letters to her, which she so often did us the honor to show us.