The women of the Coker family walked over from their farm one mild morning after Trudy had given them a report of her own visit, and even Clarence Anderson came from his place, although his introduction to Lauretta and his glimpse of Rachel were incidental to his interview with Leon in the office, during which Leon agreed to extend more or less indefinitely the due-payment date of a sum of money he had lent Clarence earlier in the year. Clarence’s money dealings with Roscoe Elk were not mentioned when he dealt with Leon, or with any of his peers, although a vaguely worded argument he used with Leon made reference to the common boundaries they shared and of the “undesirability of a stranger’s coming into possession of the old Anderson Farm.”

Penelope made ready to visit Beulah Land as soon as she had news of Rachel’s birth, but before she could set out on the journey, Judge Truebody died of pneumonia—suddenly, people said, although death from pneumonia of men his age was always said to be sudden, in spite of the familiar jingle: “Ailing Monday, bed on Tuesday, bad on Wednesday, dead on Thursday, sad on Friday, buried Saturday, forgotten Sunday.”

Penelope put off her traveling for almost two weeks. There were not merely the sad events, mainly social, attending the death of her old protector. After the judge was gone, certainly to his earthly and hopefully to his Heavenly rest, Penelope had several meetings with officials of the Bank of Georgia, into whose care the judge had arranged that she submit herself and her affairs, should he himself prove finally mortal.

It was November when Penelope arrived, attended by Clarice’s daughter Ricey, who had performed the same function on every visit her mistress had made to Beulah Land since their first seven years ago. She had quite as many friends there as did Penelope. Sarah began immediately to press her Aunt Pea to remain at least until the New Year. Penelope said no initially, and then went through a period of seeming to weigh the matter, but she had brought with her clothes suitable and adequate for the whole winter.

Although she greeted her aunt and once-guardian affectionately enough, and even made a properly dramatic display on their first meeting after seven years, Lauretta quickly fell back into the alternately depressed and distracted moods that had been her portion since attaining motherhood. Whereas once she had sat waiting and hoping for almost anyone to join her and talk a little while, now she showed reluctance to settle into any prolonged discussion and was not even free with small chat.