“Landsakes，lhopenot!Idon’tknowwhereintimeI’dset’em，’lessthey’deatattheseconttable，“Mrs。Graylaughedinpretendeddismay。
Thetwoolderboys，whohadservedtheirtimeinthearmy，layoutonthegrassbeforethehouse，andwhittiedandtalkeddesultorilyaboutthewarandthecrops，andplannedbuyingathreshingmachine。TheoldergirlsandMrs。Smithhelpedenlargethetableandputonthedishes，talkingallthetimeinthatcheery，incoherent，andmeaningfulwayagroupofsuchwomenhave-aconversationtobetakenforitsspiritratherthanforitsletter，thoughMrs。Grayatlastgottheearofthemallanddissertatedatlengthongirls。
“Girlsinloveain’tnouseinthewholeblessedweek，“shesaid。
“Sundaysthey’rea-lookin’downtheroad，expectin’he’llcome。
Sundayafternoonstheycan’tthinko’nothin’else，’causehe’shere。
Mondaymornin’sthey’resleepyandkindo’dreamyandslimpsy，andgoodfrnothin’onTuesdayandWednesday。Thursdaytheygitabsent-minded，an’begintolookofftowardSundayagin，an’mopearoun’andletthedishwatergitcold，rtghtundertheirnoses。Fridaytheybreakdishes，andgooffinthebestrooman’snivel，an’lookouto’thewinder。Saturdaystheyhavequeerspurtso’workin’likeallp’ssessed，anspurtso’frizzin’theirhair。An’Sundaytheybeginitalloveragin。“
Thegirlsgiggledandblushedallthroughthistiradefromtheirmother，theirbroadfacesandpowerfulframesanythingbutsuggestiveoflackadaisicalsentiment。ButMrs。Smithsaid：
“Now，Mrs。Gray，Ihadn’toughttostaytodianer。You’vegot-“
“Nowyousetrightdown!Ifanyofthemgirls’beauscomes，they’llhavetotakewhat’sleft，that’sall。Theyain’ts’posedtohavemuchappetite，nohow。No，you’regoin’tostayiftheystarve，an’theyain’tnodangero’that。“
Atoneo’clockthelongtablewaspiledwithboiledpotatoes，cordsofboiledcornonthecob，squashandpumpkinpies，hotbiscuit，sweetpickles，breadandbutter，andhoney。Thenoneofthegirlstookdownaconchshellfromanailand，goingtothedoor，blewalong，fine，freeblast，thatshowedtherewasnoweaknessoflungsinheramplechest。
Thenthechildrencameoutoftheforestofcorn，outofthecrick，outoftheloftofthebarn，andoutofthegarden。Themenshutuptheirjackknives，andsurroundedthehorsetroughtosousetheirfacesinthecold，hardwater，andinafewmomentsthetablewasfilledwithamerrycrowd，andarowofwistful-eyedyoungsterscircledthekitchenwail，wheretheystoodfirstononelegandthenontheother，inimpatienthunger。
“Theycometotheirfeedf’ralltheworldjestlikethepigswheny’
hoilder’poo-ee!’See’emscoot!“laughedMrs。Gray，everywrinkleonherfaceshiningwithdelight。“Nowpitchin，Mrs。Smith，“shesaid，presidingoverthetable。“Youknowthesemencritters。
They’lleateverygrainofit，ifyehgive’emachance。Iswan，they’remadeo’Indianrubber，theirstomachsis，Iknowit。“
“Hafttoeattowork，“saidBill，gnawingacobwithaswift，circularmotionthatrivaledacornshellerinresults。
“Morelikeworkin’toeat，“putinoneofthegirlswithagiggle。
“Moreeat’n’workwithyou。“
“Youneedn’tsayanything，Net。Anyonethat’lleatsevenears-“
“Ididn’t，nosuchthing。Youpiledyourcobsonmyplate。“
“That’lldototellEdVarney。Itwon’tgodownhere，whereweknowyeh。“
“Goodland!Eatallyehwant!They’splentymoreinthefiel’s，butI
can’taffordtogiveyouyoung’unstea。Theteaisforuswomenfolks，and’speciallyfrMis’Smithan’Bill’swife。We’reagoin’totellfortunesbyit。“
Onebyonethemenfilledupandshovedback，andonebyonethechildrenslippedintotheirplaces，andbytwoo’clockthewomenaloneremainedaroundthedebris-coveredtable，sippingtheirteaandtellingfortunes。
Astheygotwelldowntothegroundsinthecup，theyshookthemwithacircularmotioninthehand，andthenturnedthembottom-side-upquicklyinthesaucer，thentwirledthemthreeorfourtimesoneway，andthreeorfourtimestheother，duringabreathlesspause。ThenMrs。Grayliftedthecupand，gazingintoitwithprofoundgravity，pronouncedtheimpendingfate。
Itmustbeadmittedthat，toacriticalobserver，shehadabundantpreparationforhittingclosetothemark；aswhenshetoldthegirlsthat“somebodywascoming。““Itisaman，“shewentongravely。
“Heiscross-eyed-“
“Oh，youhush!“
“Hehasredhair，andisdeathonb’iledcornandhotbiscuit。“
Theothersshriekedwithdelight。
“Buthe’sgoin’togetthemitten，thatredheadedfelleris，forIseeafellercomin’upbehindhim。“
“Oh，lemmesee，lemmesee!“criedNettle。
“Keepoff，“saidthepriestesswithaloftygesture。“Hishairisblack。Hedon’teatsomuch，andheworksmore。“
Thegirlsexplodedinashriekoflaughterandpoundedtheirsisterontheback。
AtlastcameMrs。Smith’sturn，andshewastremblingwithexcitementasMrs。Grayagaincomposedherjollyfacetowhatsheconsideredapropersolemnityofexpression。
“Somebodyiscomin’toyou，“shesaidafteralongpause。“He’sgotamusketonhisback。He’sasoldier。He’salmosthere。See？“
Shepointedattwolittleteastems，whichformedafaintsuggestionofamanwithamusketonhisback。Hehadclimbednearlytotheedgeofthecup。Mrs。Smithgrewpalewithexcitement。Shetrembledsoshecouldhardlyholdthecupinherhandasshegazedintoit。
“It’sEd，“criedtheoldwoman。“He’sonthewayhome。Heavensan’
earth!Thereheisnow!“Sheturnedandwavedherhandouttowardtheroad。Theyrushedtothedoorandlookedwhereshepointed。
Amaninabluecoat，withamusketonhisback，wastoilingslowlyupthehill，onthesun-bright，dustyroad，toilingslowly，withbentheadhalf-hiddenbyaheavyknapsack。Sotireditseemedthatwalkingwasindeedaprocessoffalling。Soeagertogethomehewouldnotstop，wouldnotlookaside，butploddedon，amidthecriesofthelocusts，thewelcomeofthecrickets，andtherustleoftheyellowwheat。GettingbacktoGod’scountry，andhiswifeandbabies!
Laughing，crying，tryingtocallhimandthechildrenatthesametime，thelittlewife，almosthysterical，snatchedherhatandranoutintotheyard。Butthesoldierhaddisappearedoverthehillintothehollowybeyond，and，bythetimeshehadfoundthechildren，hewastoofarawayforhervoicetoreachhim。Andbesides，shewasnotsureitwasherhusband，forhehadnotturnedhisheadattheirshouts。Thisseemedsostrange。Whydidn’thestoptorestathisoldneighbor’shouse？Torturedbyhopeanddoubt，shehurriedupthecouleeasfastasshecouldpushthebabywagon，thebluecoatedfigurejustaheadpushingsteadily，silentlyforwardupthecoulee。
Whentheexcited，pantinglittlegroupcameinsightofthegate，theysawtheblue-coatedfigurestanding，leaningupontheroughrailfence，hischinonhispalms，gazingattheemptyhouse。Hisknapsack，canteen，blankets，andmusketlayuponthedustygrassathisfeet。
Hewaslikeamanlostinadream。Hiswide，hungryeyesdevouredthescene。Theroughlawn，thelittleunpaintedhouse，thefieldofclearyellowwheatbehindit，downacrosswhichstreamedthesun，nowalmostreadytotouchthehighhilltothewest，thecricketscryingmerrily，acatonthefencenearby，dreaming，unmmdfulofthestrangerinblue。
Howpeacefulitallwas。OGod!Howfarremovedfromallcamps，hospitals，battlelines。AlittlecabininaWisconsincoulee，butitwasmajesticinitspeace。Howdidheeverleaveitforthoseyearsoftramping，thirsting，killing？
Trembling，weakwithemotion，hereyesonthesilentfigure，Mrs。
Smithhurrieduptothefence。Herfeetmadenonoiseinthedustandgrass，andtheywerecloseuponhimbeforeheknewofthem。
Theoldestboyranalittleahead。Hewillneverforgetthatfigure，thatface。Itwillalwaysremainassomethingepic，thatreturnoftheprivate。Hefixedhiseyesonthepaleface，coveredwitharaggedbeard。
“Whoareyou，sir？“askedthewife，or，rather，startedtoask，forheturned，stoodamoment，andthencried：
“Emma!“
“Edward!“
Thechildrenstoodinacuriousrowtoseetheirmotherkissthisbearded，strangeman，theeldergirlsobbingsympatheticallywithhermother。Illnesshadleftthesoldierpartlydeaf，andthisaddedtothestrangenessofhismanner。
Buttheboyofsixyearsstoodaway，evenafterthegirlhadrecognizedherfatherandkissedhim。Themanturnedthentothebabyandsaidinacuriouslyunpaternaltone：
“Comehere，mylittleman；don’tyouknowme？“Butthebabybackedawayunderthefenceandstoodpeeringathimcritically。
“Mylittleman!“Whatmeaninginthosewords!Thisbabyseemedlikesomeotherwoman’schild，andnottheinfanthehadleftinhiswife’sarms。Thewarhadcomebetweenhimandhisbaby-hewasonly“astrangeman，withbigeyes，dressedinblue，withMotherhangingtohisarm，andtalkinginaloudvoice。
“AndthisisTom，“hesaid，drawingtheoldestboytohim。“He’llcomeandseeme。Heknowshispooroldpapwhenhecomeshomefromthewar。“
Themotherheardthepainandreproachinhisvoiceandhastenedtoapologize。
“You’vechangedso，Ed。Hecan’tknowyeh。ThisisPapa，Teddy；
comeandkisshim-TomandMarydo，Come，won’tyou？“ButTeddystillpeeredthroughthefencewithsolemneyes，welloutofreach。Heresembledahalf-wildkittenthathesitates，studyingthetonesofone’svoice。
“I’llfixhim，“saidthesoldier，andsatdowntoundohisknapsack，outofwhichhedrewthreeenormousandveryredapples。Aftergivingonetoeachoftheolderchildren，hesaid：
“NowIguesshe’llcome。Eh，mylittleman？Nowcomeseeyourpap。“
Teddycreptslowlyunderthefence，assistedbytheoverzealousTommy，andamomentlaterwaskick-ingandsquallinginhisfather’sarms。Thentheyenteredthehouse，intothesittingroom，poor，bare，art-forsakenlittleroom，too，withitsragcarpet，itssquareclock，anditstwoorthreechromosandpicturesfromHarper’sWeeklypinnedabout。
“Emma，I’malltiredout，“saidPrivateSmithasheflunghimselfdownonthecarpetasheusedtodo，whilehiswifebroughtapillowtoputunderhishead，andthechildrenstoodabout，munchingtheirapples。
“Tommy，yourunandgetmeapanofchips；andMary，yougettheteakettleon，andI’llgoandmakesomebiscuit。“
Andthesoldiertalked。Questionafterquestionhepouredforthaboutthecrops，thecattle，therenter，theneighbors。Heslippedhisheavygovernmentbroganshoesoffhispoor，tired，blisteredfeet，andlayoutwithutter，sweetrelaxation。Hewasafreemanagain，nolongerasoldierundercommand。Atsupperhestoppedonce，listened，andsmiled。“That’soldSpot。Iknowhervoice。Is’posethat’shercalfoutthereinthepen。Ican’tmilkhertonight，though，I’mtootired；butItellyou，I’dlikeadrinko’hermilk。What’sbecomeofoldRove？“
“Hediedlastwinter。Poisoned，Iguess。“Therewasamomentofsadnessforthemall。Itwassometimebeforethehusbandspokeagain，inavoicethattrembledalittle。
“Pooroldfeller!He’daknownmeahalfamileaway。Iexpectedhimtocomedownthehilltomeetme。It’ud’a’beenmorelikecomin’homeifIcould’a’seenhimcomm’downtheroadan’
waggin’histail，an’laugh-in’thatwayhehas。Itellyeh，itkin’o’
tookholdo’metoseetheblindsdownan’thehouseshutup。“
“But，yehsee，we-weexpectedyou’dwriteagain’foreyoustarted。
Andthenwethoughtwe’dseeyouifyoudidcome，“shehastenedtoexplain。
“Well，Iain’tworthacentonwritin’。Besides，it’sjustaswellyehdidn’tknowwhenIwascomm’。Itellyeh，itsoundsgoodtohearthemchickensoutthere，an’turkeys，an’thecrickets。Doyouknowtheydon’thavejustthesamekindo’cricketsdownSouth。Who’sSamhiredt’helpcutyergrain？“
“TheRamseyboys。“
“Lookslikeagoodcrop；butI’mafraidIwon’tdomuchgettin’itcut。Thiscussedfeveran’aguehasgotmedownprettylow。Idon’tknowwhenI’llgetredofit。I’llbetI’vetooktwenty-fivepoundsofquinine，ifI’vetakenabit。Gimmeanotherbiscuit。Itellyeh，theytastegood，Emma。Iain’thadanythinglikeit-Say，ifyou’daheardmebraggin’toth’boysaboutyourbutter’n’biscuits，I’llbetyourears’ud’a’burnt。“
Theprivate’swifecoloredwithpleasure。“Oh，you’realwaysa-braggin’aboutyourthings。Everybodymakesgoodbutter。“
“Yes；oldladySnyder，forinstance。“