"Why, ye domned little fool, ye!" she screamed. "Ye never told a lie before in all your days! Judge Whiting, I had the axe round me neck by the climbin' strap, and I got it in me fingers when we heard the crature comin', and against his chist I set it, and Igave him a shove that sint him over. Like a cat he was a-clingin' and climbin', and when I saw him comin' up on us with that awful face of his, I jist swung the axe like I do when I'm rejoocin' a pace of eucalyptus to fireplace size, and whack! Itook the branch supportin' him, and a dome' good axe I spoiled din' it."Katy folded her arms, lifted her chin higher than it ever had been before, and glared defiance at the Judge.
"Now go on," she said, "and decide what ye'll do to me for it."The Judge reached over and took both Katherine O'Donovan's hands in a firm grip.
"You brave woman!" he said. "If it lay in my power, I would give you the Carnegie Medal. In any event I will see that you have a good bungalow with plenty of shamrock on each side of your front path, and a fair income to keep you comfortable when the rheumatic days are upon you.""I am no over-feeder," said Katy proudly. "I'm daily exercisin'
me muscles enough to kape them young. The rheumatism I'll not have. And nayther will I have the house nor the income. I've saved me money; I've an income of me own.""And as for the bungalow," interrupted Linda, "Katherine, as Ihave mentioned frequently before is my father, and my mother, and my whole family, and her front door is mine.""Sure," said Katy proudly. "When these two fine people before you set up their hearthstone, a-swapin' it I'll be, and carin'
for their youngsters; but, Judge, I would like a bit of the shamrock. Ye might be sendin' me a start of that, if it would plase Your Honor."Judge Whiting looked intently at Katherine O'Donovan. And then, as if they had been on the witness stand, he looked searchingly at Linda. But Linda was too perturbed, too accustomed to Katy's extravagant nonsense even to notice the purport of what she had said. Then the Judge turned his attention to Peter Morrison and realized that at least one of the parties to Katherine's proposed hearthstone had understood and heartily endorsed her proposal.
"I will have to be going. The boy and his mother will need me,"he said. "I will see all of you later."Then he sprang across the brook and sent his car roaring down the canyon after the ambulance.
Once more Katy sank to the ground. Linda looked at her as she buried her face and began to wail.
"Peter," she said quietly, "hunt our belongings and pack them in the Bear Cat the best you can. Excuse us for a few minutes. We must act this out of our systems."Gravely she sat down beside Katy, laid her head on her shoulder, and began to cry very nearly as energetically as Katy herself.
And that was the one thing which was most effective in restoring Katy's nerves. Tears were such an unaccustomed thing with Linda that Katy controlled herself speedily so that she might be better able to serve the girl. In a few minutes Katy had reduced her emotions to a dry sniffle. She lifted her head, groped for her pocket, and being unable to find it for the very good reason that she was sitting upon it, she used her gingham hem as a handkerchief. Once she had risen to the physical effort of wiping her eyes, she regained calmness rapidly. The last time she applied the hem she looked at Peter, but addressed the Almighty in resigned tones: "There, Lord, I guess that will do."In a few minutes she was searching the kitchen, making sure that no knives, spoons, or cooking utensils were lost. Missing her support, Linda sat erect and endeavored to follow Katy's example.
Her eyes met Peter's and when she saw that his shoulders were shaking, a dry, hysterical laugh possessed her.
"Yes, Katy," she panted, "that WILL do, and remember the tears we are shedding are over Donald's broken foot, and because this may interfere with his work, though I don't think it will for long.""When I cry," said Katy tersely, "I cry because I feel like it.
I wasn't wapin' over the snake that'd plan a death like that for anyone"--Katy waved toward the boulder--"and nayther was Iwastin' me tears over the fut of a kid bein' jommed up a trifle.""Well, then, Katy," asked Linda tremulously, "why were you crying?""Well, there's times," said Katy judicially, "when me spirits tell me I would be the better for lettin' off a wee bit of stame, and one of them times havin' arrived, I jist bowed me head to it, as is in accordance with the makings of me. Far be it from me to be flyin' in the face of Providence and sayin' I won't, when all me interior disposhion says to me: 'Ye will!'""And now, Linda," said Peter, "can you tell us why you were crying?""Why, I think," said Linda, "that Katy has explained sufficiently for both of us. It was merely time for us to howl after such fearful nerve strain, so we howled.""Well, that's all right," said Peter. "Now I'll tell you something. If you had gone away in that ambulance to an anesthetic and an operation, no wildcat that ever indulged in a hunger hunt through this canyon could have put up a howl equal to the one that I would have sent up.""Peter," said Linda, "there is nothing funny about this; it's no tame for jest. But do men have nerves? Would you really?""Of course I would," said Peter.
"No, you wouldn't," contradicted Linda. "You just say that because you want to comfort us for having broken down, instead of trying to tease us as most men would.""He would, too!" said Katy, starting to the Bear Cat with a load of utensils. "Now come on; let's go home and be gettin' craned up and ready for what's goin' to happen to us. Will they be jailin' us, belike, Miss Linda?"Linda looked at Peter questioningly.
