's breathed a suspicion of your mebbe dividin' that seven cents with him. But I ain't so sure now,' I says, ''n' I ain't prepared to say what I 'll think from now on,' 'n' then I walked off, leavin' him good 'n' meek, I c'n assure you; 'n' the come-out o' that little game is as my trade, which ranged fr'm ten to fifty cents a week 'n' _always_ cash, is lost to him forever hereafter." Mrs. Lathrop was fairly choking with impatience. "'N' your cousin--" she interjected quickly, as Susan halted for a slight rest. "Yes," said that lady, with a certain chilling air of having up to now suffered from inexcusable neglect on the part of her friend, "I was thinkin' 's it was about time 't you begin to show _some_ interest in what I come over to tell you--'n' me here for the best part o' a good half-hour already. Well, 'n' my cousin! She come out o' a letter, Mrs. Lathrop, a old torn letter 's you or any other ordinary person would probably 'a' throwed away without even readin'. But I was never one to do things slipshod, 'n' I read every scrap 's I 've got time to piece together, so it was nothin' but natural 's I sh'd quit work 's soon 's I see Cousin Marion's letter 'n' sit right down to read it. 'N' it's good as I did too, for 'f I 'd been careless 'n' burned my rubbish unread, Cousin Marion 'd certainly 'a' burnt with the other scraps, 'n' as a consequence I'd 'a' missed about the happiest minutes 's I 've knowed since father died. You c'n believe me or not, jus' 's you please, Mrs. Lathrop, but I cried over that letter; 'n' if some was the dust in my nose, the rest was real affection, for, Lord knows, when you 're scratchin' out mice 'n' cobwebs you ain't lookin' to find a relation none. But anyhow, there she was, 'n' if she ain't died in the mean time--f'r the letter was wrote over fifty years ago--I may know suthin' o' family life yet. It was the beautifullest letter 't I ever read. You c'd n't imagine nothin' more beautiful. I'm afraid 's mebbe mother 'n' me misjudged father, owin' to the everlastin' up 'n' down stairs, 'n' mother used to say right out 't it was a neck to neck tie 's to which he stuck closest to, his bed or his money. But he wasn't always like that, 'n' this letter proves it, for Heaven knows what he must 'a' give Cousin Marion to 'a' ever brought her to write him such words 's them. Not to deceive you, Mrs. Lathrop, the letter was that grateful that I was more 'n a little bothered over it. It is n't very likely 's you sh'd be able to understan' my feelin's to their full, 'n' yet you c'n mebbe guess 's it ain't altogether a agreeable thing to suddenly find out 't your own native flesh 'n' blood father's got distant relations callin' down daily blessin's on him f'r his overwhelmin' generosity. That's what she said in the letter, 'n' I can't deny 's the words sent a cold chill runnin' down my backbone 's I read 'em.