She was surprised to find a light burning in the kitchen, and Ezekiel, their hired man, awaiting her in a dominant and nasal key of religious and practical disapprobation.

"Pity you wern't tu hum afore, ma'am, considerin' the doins that's goin' on in perfessed Christians' houses arter meetin' on the Sabbath Day." "What's the difficulty now, Ezekiel ?" said Mrs.Blandford, who had regained her rigorous precision once more under the decorous security of her own roof.
"Wa'al, here comes an entire stranger axin for Squire Blandford.

And when I tells he warn't tu hum--" "Not at home ?" interrupted Mrs.Blandford, with a slight start.

"I left him here." "Mebbee so, but folks nowadays don't 'pear to keer much whether they break the Sabbath or not, trapsen' raound town in and arter meetin' hours, ez if 'twor gin'ral tranin' day--and hez gone out agin." "Go on," said Mrs.Blandford, curtly.
"Wa'al, the stranger sez, sez he, 'Show me the way to the stables,' sez he, and without taken' no for an answer, ups and meanders through the hall, outer the kitchen inter the yard, ez if he was justice of the peace; and when he gets there he sez, 'Fetch out his hoss and harness up, and be blamed quick about it, and tell Ned Blandford that Dick Demorest hez got to leave town to-night, and ez ther ain't a blamed puritanical shadbelly in this hull town ez would let a hoss go on hire Sunday night, he guesses he'll hev to borry his.' And afore I could say Jack Robinson, he tackles the hoss up and drives outer the yard, flinging this two-dollar-and-a-half-piece behind him ez if I wur a Virginia slave and he was John C.Calhoun hisself.

I'd a chucked it after him if it hadn't been the Lord's Day, and it mout hev provoked disturbance." "Mr.Demorest is worldly, but one of Edward's old friends," said Mrs.
Blandford, with a slight kindling of her eyes, "and he would not have refused to aid him in what might be an errand of grace or necessity.