He had no tackle or bait, and reason easily could have
told her that he would return shortly, and finish anything she
wanted done; but when was a lonely, disappointed woman ever
reasonable?
She set the dish water on the stove, wiped her hands on her
apron, and walking to the garden, picked up the spade and began
turning great pieces of earth. She had never done rough farm
work, such as women all about her did; she had little exercise
during the long, cold winter, and the first half dozen spadefuls
tired her until the tears of self-pity rolled.
"I wish there was a turtle as big as a wash tub in the river" she
sobbed, "and I wish it would eat that old Black Bass to the last
scale. And I'm going to take the shotgun, and go over to the
embankment, and poke it into the tunnel, and blow the old
Kingfisher through into the cornfield. Then maybe Dannie won't go
off too and leave me. I want this onion bed spaded right away, so
I do."
"Drop that! Idjit! What you doing?" yelled Jimmy.
"Mary, ye goose!" panted Dannie, as he came hurrying across the
yard. "Wha' do ye mean? Ye knew I'd be back in a minute! Jimmy
juist called me to hear the Bass splash. I was comin' back. Mary,
this amna fair."
Dannie took the spade from her hand, and Mary fled sobbing to the
house.
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