"So, people under my voice, hit wasn't no great of a surprise to me when these here women come in. I seed in their coming the dawning of our hope, the gorrontee of our betterment, the asshorance that the Lord had brung us to remembrance. And all along, friends, hit has been in my mind that this summer wasn't noways the eend, but just the beginning of the blessings the Lord aimed to pour out on us. "I never spoke to the women or to nobody; I just laid hit on the Lord and waited for his guiding hand. And when I heared the county was all a-mustering for a last day here, hit appeared like a coal of fire from the altar was toched to my lips, and I was commanded to speak out the words that would be put into my mouth. And though I hain't no speaker, and never was, I didn't dairst to deny the call. "So, gethering the citizens together in the courthouse, I spoke my thoughts, which was that somehow, I couldn't say exactly how, we must fix to keep these women with us, to link 'em everly down to us that, like the apostuls in the Good Book, we ought to be minded to build tabernacles for 'em, so's they would allus abide with us. "And about that time Giles, my grandson, riz and tuck the words out of my mouth, to say that what was needed was to make the women stay and start up a right school; that, good as his intentions was, he knowed well he wasn't noways able to do for the young-uns what the women could; and anyhow he was minded to go down in the level land and get more larning soon as he could be spared. Which right there, friends, I rej'iced to feel that my mantle had fell on Giles. "Then one atter another of the citizens spoke, and the gineral sense of the meeting appeared to be that we couldn't noway part with these women; and that, if somehow or 'nother they could be brung round to stay and start up a school, hit would be the best day that ever riz on Knott County. "Then we got down to rael business and talked about hows and ways. This here schoolhouse we got is old, and not nigh sizable enough, and all scrouged in so's the young-uns don't have no-wheres to play but the street; but hit will make a good store-seat, and Enoch Bickers allowed he would buy hit for sech. All hands appeared to feel like Polly Ainslee's bottom, just beyand where the forks meets, was the onliest place for a right school; and then and thar Lawyer Gentry went out and seed Polly, to ax her figger, and she allowed, if hit was for the women that had waited on her so good in the typhoid, she'd name a low price--seven hunderd dollars. And when Nathe come back, though we air pore folks, hit didn't take fifteen minutes to make up that sum, which I have got hit all sot down here on paper.