If his mother had asked him such a question that morning he would not have hesitated about telling the truth. But the thought of the expression upon his father's face when he had told about throwing the stone, deterred him. He looked at his mother uncertain what to say.
"Have you lost your tongue, too?" she impatiently demanded. "Dear me, there must be something wrong when you too are afraid or ashamed to speak. Things have come to a pretty pass, Sam'l, when you an' Eben conspire against me. Haven't I cooked for you, washed and mended your clothes all these years, and been a good wife to you, Sam'l?"
"Indeed ye have, Martha. Ye've done yer duty, all right."
"An' haven't I been a good mother to your children?"
"Sure, sure, ye have, Martha. Ye done yer duty to them, too."
"Well, then, S
