Produced by Suzanne Shell, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Susan Clegg and Her Neighbors' Affairs By Anne Warner _Author of "Susan Clegg and her Friend Mrs. Lathrop," "The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary," "A Woman's Will," etc._ Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1906 Copyright, 1904, By The Red Book Corporation. Copyright, 1905, By The Century Company. Copyright, 1905, By The Bobbs Merrill Company. Copyright, 1906, By Little, Brown, and Company. _All rights reserved_ Published June, 1906 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. [Illustration: "It's a brand-new one, fer the price-tag's still hangin' on the back."] _PREFATORY NOTE_ _"Mrs. Lathrop's Love Affair" appeared in "The Century Magazine" in 1905. "The Wolf at Susan's Door" was published in "The Reader's Magazine" in the early part of the present year, and "Old Man Ely's Proposal" is printed for the first time in this volume. The original version of "A Very Superior Man" appeared in "The Red Book."_ * * * * * CONTENTS MRS. LATHROP'S LOVE AFFAIR Part First. The Deacon's Dilemma Part Second. The Automobile OLD MAN ELY'S PROPOSAL THE WOLF AT SUSAN'S DOOR Part First. Miss Clegg's Speculations Part Second. Gran'ma Mullins's Woe Part Third. Lucy Dill's Wedding Part Fourth. Mr. Jilkins's Hat A VERY SUPERIOR MAN * * * * * MRS. LATHROP'S LOVE AFFAIR PART FIRST THE DEACON'S DILEMMA Miss Clegg was getting her own favorite tea. This always consisted of itself, toast, and a slice of bacon; and she apparently took as much pleasure in the preparation of the meal as if it were not the ten thousandth of its kind which she had cooked and eaten. As she hustled and bustled here and there, her manner seemed even more sprightly than usual; and it was only occasionally, when her glance fell upon the light shining across from her friend's kitchen window opposite, that her cheerfulness knew any diminution. But there seemed to be some sad influence in the effect of the rays of Mrs. Lathrop's lamp on this particular night; and even if its effect on Susan was merely transitory, it was not the less marked each time that it occurred. Once, just as she was carrying the tea-pot from the stove to the table, she voiced her thoughts aloud. "I shall have to tell her to-night, so I may 's well make up my mind to it," she said firmly; and then, after drawing up a chair by making a hook out of one of her feet, she sat down and sought strength for the ordeal in a more than ordinarily hearty supper. It was a bleak, cold night in early November, and the wind whistled drearily outside. There was a chill atmosphere everywhere, and a hint of coming winter.