Miss Plummer had the odd characteristic of always raising her voice when in a conversation with a man, as if she presumed they were all born deaf. Her own father had been very deaf in his old age, Christina remembered, so perhaps that was the reason. But she saw Cornelius, captive in his chair, a rug over his knees, wince at the trumpeted greeting.

Miss Plummer gave him no chance to respond, but went right on as she laid the books on the coffee table. “Brought these—all I could dig out about the missionaries.”

“Marvelous.” And Christina left them to talk about the weather, the unfailing breaker of social ice in Willard, while she went into the kitchen to fetch the tea tray.

“Golly, chocolate cake!” Miss Plummer cried when she saw the tray.

“And anchovy sandwiches,” Christina murmured. “I felt ravenously hungry for some reason. No one needs to eat anything he doesn’t want.”

She caught the twinkle in Cornelius’s eye as Miss Plummer dove into a sandwich, accepted a cup of tea with milk and sugar, and swallowed it down in two gulps.

“It’s a scrumptious do,” she said between mouthfuls. “Christina always remembers that food is an important matter.”

“Do I? I suppose I must be very greedy myself,” Christina laughed. Dear old Susie, why did she remind one of a small, barky dog? Beneficent, gay, just a little absurd, she was not someone who showed her age. Though she must be sixty-five, she looked forty, with her high color and bright gray eyes.

“You’re looking fit, Miss Plummer,” Cornelius remarked.

“Oh, I’m in splendid shape. Couldn’t stand the climate out there in Manila. Now I’m back in these cold winters, my circulation responds. It’s a new lease on life.”

Christina had untied the parcel of books and looked them over eagerly.

“So many women missionaries! Why, if we made a map and had threads run out from the church into the world, it would be amazing to see how many went and how far from this village. I’m surprised.”

“A map would be a darned good idea. Why don’t you suggest it to Jem?” Cornelius volunteered.

“Were they really so religious?” Christina asked Susie Plummer.

“Some were. For some it may have been the only way to get out and see the world. Of course some went with their husbands, as wives.”

“Yes, I never thought of that,” Cornelius said, interested at last. “Hard for a woman with any gumption to get away. Teaching, missions—that was about it, wasn’t it?”

“And women teachers were underpaid and undereducated! Religious?” Susie Plummer shouted. “Of course! But what I did was teach children how to read; learned Spanish, taught ’em their own language and English as well. Tried to show what a Christian life is. Left it at that—then when they asked, I told them.”