Rosemary thought a great deal about the Gays in the days that followed. Louisa had asked her to promise that she would tell no one the precarious¹ state of their finances—"no one can help and I won't be discussed like the 'cases' they bring up at the sewing circle," said Louisa passionately².  
"They'd be 'running up' clothes for June and Kitty," she said another time, "and fitting us out to go to the poor farm looking respectable. I'd rather stay here and look any old way."
 
Sarah was extremely observant for her years and she surprised Rosemary and Louisa with a shrewd comment or two, until the latter deemed it expedient³ to take her into the inner circle of confidence. Sarah could be loyal and she could be silent. From that day she and Rosemary were leagued with Louisa and Alec to circumvent⁴ the town authorities.
 
Not that authority, in any guise⁵, was ever manifested. At least it had not been so far. Rosemary, on the beautiful moonlight nights when "Old Fiddlestrings" wandered again up and down the road, playing the "Serenade" with his soul in his fingers, found it hard to believe that there could be such ugly things in the world as poverty and fear. She was sure that Louisa and Alec must be mistaken—or else the money would come from somewhere—it must. There could not be such music and such moonlight and such heavenly scented⁷ breezes on an earth that was anything but wholly lovely, wholly kind.
 
"My dear child, you must go to bed," Mrs. Willis remonstrated⁸ on the third night when she came in to find Rosemary's room flooded with moonlight and Rosemary herself kneeling at the window. "You can hear the music just as well in bed and I don't like to have you lose so much sleep."
 
And then she brought a light comfortable from the bed and, wrapped in that, knelt with Rosemary at the window till the player and his violin walked wearily away out of sight. After all, what was the loss of a little sleep as compared with such playing?
 
"Heard Old Fiddlestrings again last night," said Mr. Hildreth, drawing up before the kitchen door the next morning while Richard carried in the piece of ice they had brought from the creamery for Winnie. "I declare it's a mercy we don't have full moon more than once a month; no one would get a fair night's sleep. Does he bother you?"
 
"Bother us?" echoed Rosemary in astonishment⁹. "Bother us? Why, it is the loveliest playing we have ever heard!"
 
Richard judged this an excellent time to ask a question.
 
"How would you like to go over to the poor farm?" he suggested, pulling Shirley back from the dusty wheel and taking a firm grip on Sarah with the other hand to prevent her from crawling under the horse—for what reason she alone knew.
 
"The poor farm?" Rosemary's mind immediately leaped to the Gays.
 
"Oh, Richard, do let's go!" she cried, her enthusiasm kindling¹⁰. "I've always wanted to see the poor farm."
 
"Well, your brother goes there often enough," said Mr. Hildreth drily. "It's thanks to him that the new Board of Freeholders put in decent plumbing¹¹ all through the place."
 
Richard climbed back into his seat and took the reins¹².
 
"Well, be ready in about fifteen minutes," he directed. "It's thanks to Mr. Hildreth that the poor-farm folks are going to get some early tomatoes."
 
"I've a good mind to cuff¹³ you," said the exasperated¹⁴ Mr. Hildreth who had never been known to raise his hand against anyone. (Warren had once remarked that when he raised his voice he needed no further reinforcements.) "It's a pity when we have the first tomatoes and more than we can use, not to send those poor creatures a few."
 
The "few" tomatoes proved to be six peach baskets full and they made a crimson¹⁵ splash in the back of the light spring wagon¹⁶ Warren presently drove around harnessed to the useful Solomon.
 
"Mother says do you want to take us all?" cried Shirley, balancing herself on the lowest step and eyeing Richard anxiously. "I hope you want all of us, Richard, because no one wants to stay home."
 
Her mother, coming out in time to hear this speech, laughed.
 
"Have you room for three, Richard?" she asked. "The girls have had a great many rides lately and I'm sure one or two will stay home without grumbling¹⁷, if necessary."
 
"Room for everybody," Richard assured her. "Don't you want to go, Mrs. Willis? I'll tip the girls over with the tomatoes and you may have the whole front seat, if you'll come."
 
"Thank you no," she answered him smiling. "Winnie and I have a busy day ahead of us. You know the doctor and Jack¹⁸ Welles are coming up next week to stay two weeks and Winnie and I want to have as much done ahead as we can. Have a good time and bring me home some wild flowers if you pass any growing along the road."
 
It was a warm morning, but no one minds that in July. Besides, as Sarah pointed¹⁹ out, there was now and then a breeze. Sarah and Shirley were seated in the middle of the single long seat with Richard at one end and Rosemary the other.
 
As usual Sarah and Shirley both wanted to drive and, also as usual, Richard settled the argument diplomatically by allowing each to hold the reins in turn, stipulating²⁰ fixed²¹ distances for each, using the trees which could be seen ahead as boundary marks.
 
Rosemary was less interested in the driving than in their destination. She plied²² Richard with questions about the poor farm. Who lived there? How many people? How poor did one have to be before he was compelled to live on the poor farm? Did one, once sent there, ever save enough money to go somewhere else? Were there any children and what did they do?
 
"Good grief!" ejaculated the

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