' Well, it was about the turning-
point, for thar waz some of the members and the pastor hisself
thought that the line oughter to be drawn somewhere, and thar was
some talk at Deacon Tibbet's about a reg'lar conference meetin'
regardin' it. But it wasn't thet which made him onpoplar."
Another silence; no expression nor reflection from the face of the
Other Man of the least desire to know what ultimately settled the
unpopularity of the undertaker. But from the curtains of the
various berths several eager and one or two even wrathful faces,
anxious for the result.
The Other Man (lazily recurring to the fading topic): "Well, what
made him onpoplar?"
The One Man (quietly): "Extrys, I think--that is, I suppose, not
knowin'" (cautiously) "all the facts. When Mrs. Widdecombe lost
her husband, 'bout two months ago, though she'd been through the
valley of the shadder of death twice--this bein' her third
marriage, hevin' been John Barker's widder--"
The Other Man (with an intense expression of interest): "No, you're
foolin' me!"
The One Man (solemnly): "Ef I was to appear before my Maker to-
morrow, yes! she was the widder of Barker.
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