I insisted on her taking my own
rocker, while I fixed myself on the floor with a pillar for a
back-rest. Not a word did the girl say, but she sat there clutching
the little basket she held in her lap.
"Eggs?" inquired Josiah.
She shook her head, but did not enlighten him.
"I should judge your hens ain't layin' well, figurin' on the size of
the basket," said the old man, ignoring her denial. "There's a
peculiarity about the hens in this walley--it's somethin' I've noticed
ever since I was a boy. I've spoke to my missus about it and she has
noticed the same thing since she was a girl--so it must be a
peculiarity. The hens in this walley allus lays most when the price of
eggs is lowest."
This was a serious problem. It is not usual for Josiah to be serious,
either, for he is generally out of breath or laughing. Now he was
wagging his head solemnly, pulling his beard, and over and over
repeating, "But hens is contrary--hens is contrary."
Mary contrived to drop the basket to her side, out of the old man's
sight.
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