6/17 Being sole head of her flock, for she was a widow, she deemed it best to rule with firmness, not to say severity; and her son Dan, awed by his own timid nature, tried hard to steer his course so as to avoid shoals and quicksands. He crossed the yard, after the rebuff administered by Nancy, and passed out at the gate, where he stood still to revolve affairs. His mother had imperatively ordered him to _bring back_ the answer touching the intricate question of the light and the dark lavender prints; and Susan Peckaby--one of the greatest idlers in all Deerham--said she would wait in the shop until he came with it. He stood softly whistling, his hands in his pockets, and balancing himself on his heels. "Mother'll lose the sale of the gownd, and then she'll say it's my fault, and baste me for it. |