"But she didn't say anything to the folks about it, and they knew nothing of his presence in town—Glavis didn't tell it seems, either—until Sunday morning."

"Indeed!"

"No, none of them had gone out Saturday night, so they hadn't heard any of the talk that was going the rounds."

"Well, Glavis went outside Sunday morning and found the Defender in the mail box."

"So?"

"You see, they do not subscribe for it, but the people next door get it—"

"And knowing they were not subscribers, they take the paper and place it where they could get it."

Mildred laughed.

"So," resumed Mildred, "when they saw the paper, all was excitement."

"Goody!"

"So Glavis (he is the Reverend's faithful lieutenant, you know), went out to look up Baptiste and have a talk with him."

"Ump!"

"He didn't find him."

"That was how he happened by here."

"But the funny part about it is, that they don't know what Baptiste is up to. They don't know that if he secures a judgment, he can remand the Elder to jail for six months."

"Now won't there be some excitement when they learn!"

Mildred laughed again, her mother joined her.

"But getting back to Ethel."

"Tell me about her."

"Oh, she was on the war path. 'You see,' she cried, standing over Orlean. 'You see what you've done by your hard-headedness. I told you all the time not to marry that man!'"

"Wouldn't that disgust you!"

"'But you would go ahead and marry him! You would go ahead and marry him, after all papa and I tried to persuade you not to! And now! You are going to kill your father; going to kill your poor old father.' Orlean just hung her head like a silly and took it. 'Yes,' went on Ethel, turning her little slender body around and twisting her jaws as if to grind it out. 'You got him all mixed up with that nigga', and here he comes in here and sues him. Think of it! Sues him! And now all the nigga's in Chicago have the laugh on us—we daren't show our faces in the street!

"'And what has he done it for?' 'But, Ethel,' Orlean protested, 'Papa isn't worth anything. He can't do anything with papa if he gets a judgment.' 'What do you know about judgments,' Ethel flew up. 'Well,' said Orlean, 'I recall hearing Jean say that if a man was worth nothing, then a judgment was of little or no good.' 'You heard Jean say it!' screamed Ethel, looking at Orlean severely. And then she turned to me. 'Do you know, Mildred,' she rang out, 'This fool woman loves that man yet. Yes. Y-e-s! Loves him yet and would go back to him tomorrow if it wasn't for us!'"

"Doesn't it beat anything you ever saw!"

Mildred laughed again as she paused for breath.