The katydids were singing in infinite peace under the solemn splendor of the moon.

The cattle sniffed and sighed, jangling their bells now and then, and the chickens in the coops stirred uneasily as if overheated.

The old woman stood there in her bare feet and long nightgown, horror-stricken.
The ghastly story of a man who had hung himself in his barn because his wife deserted him came into her mind and stayed there with frightful persistency.

Her throat filled chokingly.
She felt a wild rush of loneliness.

She had a sudden realization of how dear that gaunt old figure was, with its grizzled face and ready smile.
Her breath came quick and quicker, and she was at the point of bursting into a wild cry to Tewksbury, when she heard a strange noise.