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I made a stop by the window that I always do make stops by and I rapped six raps on the window-pane. Six raps means "Come on out—we are come." I had no hears of her steps a-coming like they always do. I put my hands above my eyes so I could see inside the window. She was not there. Nobody was. I did tap six more raps. She did not come.

I went on around by the lilac bush. I crawled in under it to wait waits for her coming. Two men were talking by the fence. One did say, "It is better so." I had wonders what did he mean. The other man did say, "A pit tea it was she could n't have had a little sight to see that brush-fire ahead." And I had hears of the other one say, "Probably the smell of the smoke caused her worry about the fire coming to the house, and probably she was trying to find out where it was when she walked right into it." And the other man did have asks if she was con chus after. And the other one did say, "Yes."

I listened more listens to their queer talk. I had wonders what did it all mean. Another man did come in the gate. He came to where they was. He put his hand on a fence-post. There was a green caterpillar close by him on a bush, but he had not seeing of it. He did begin to talk. First thing he said was, "When Jim went by here last even, that child was sitting on the gate-post. She was waiting for her to come back." He said more; he said, "