She paused, and cleared her throat; but when she resumed her voice was still husky.
“Maybe you don't know it, but I've seen a good deal of that little girl of yours. We live on the Pendleton Hill road, and she used to go by often--only she didn't always GO BY. She came in and played with the kids and talked to me--and my man, when he was home. She seemed to like it, and to like us. She didn't know, I suspect, that her kind of folks don't generally call on my kind. Maybe if they DID call more, Miss Harrington, there wouldn't be so many--of my kind,” she added, with sudden bitterness.
“Be that as it may, she came; and she didn't do herself no harm, and she did do us good--a lot o' good. How much she won't know--nor can't know, I hope; 'cause if she did, she'd know other things--that I don't want her to know.
“But it's just this. It's been hard times with us this year, in more ways than one. We've been blue and discouraged--my man and me, and ready for--'most anything. We was reckoning on getting a divorce about now, and letting the kids well, we didn't know what we would do with the kids. Then came the accident, and what we heard about the little girl's never walking again. And we got to thinking how she used to come and sit on our doorstep and train with the kids, and laugh, and--and just be glad. She was always being glad about something; and then, one day, she told us why, and about the game, you know; and tried to coax us to play it.
“Well, we've heard now that she's fretting her poor little life out of her, because she can't play it no more--that there's nothing to be glad about. And that's what I came to tell her to-day--that maybe she can be a little glad for us, 'cause we've decided to stick to each other, and play the game ourselves. I knew she would be glad, because she used to feel kind of bad--at things we said, sometimes. Just how the game is going to help us, I can't say that I exactly see, yet; but maybe 'twill. Anyhow, we're going to try--'cause she wanted us to. Will you tell her?”
“Yes, I will tell her,” promised Miss Polly, a little faintly. Then, with sudden impulse, she stepped forward and held out her hand. “And thank you for coming, Mrs. Payson,” she said simply.