God decides to strike down her pride!"
"I do think you're jealous of her, Vilate. I do think that."
"Jealous?"
"Because she won the heart of Alvin Smith, and maybe she still owns it."
"Far as I can tell, his heart's still beating in his own chest."
"And is the gold still shining in his croker sack?"
"You talk sweet about Miss Larner, but you alway's assume I have the worst motives." Vilate had the stove going nicely now, and put on a teapot to boil as she began cutting string beans and dropping them in a pan of Water.
"Because I know you so well, Vilate."
"You think you know me, but I'm full of surprises."
"Don't you drop your teeth at me, you despicable creature."
"They dropped by themselves," said Vilate. "I never do it on purpose."
"You're such a liar."
"But I'm a beautiful liar, don't you think?" She flashed her best smile at her friend.
"I don't understand what men see in women anyway," her friend answered. "Hexes or no hexes, as long as a woman has her clothes on a man can't see what he's interested in anyhow."
"I don't know about all men," said Vilate. "I think some men love me for my character."
"A character of sterling silver, no doubt - never mind a little tarnish, you can wipe that off with a little polish."
"And some men love me for my wit and charm."
"Yes, I'm sure they do - if they've been living in a cave for forty years and haven't seen a civilized woman in all that time."
"You can tease me all you want, but I know you're jealous of me, because Alvin Smith is already falling in love with me, the poor hopeless boy, while he'll never give a look at you, not a single look. Eat your heart out, dear."
Her best friend just sat there with a grumpy face. Vilate had really hit home with that last one. The teapot sang. As always, Vilate set out two teacups. But, as always, her best friend sniffed the tea but never drank it. Well, so what? Vilate never failed in her courtesy, and that's what mattered.
"Makepeace is going to take him to court."
"Ha," said Vilate. "You heard that already, too?"
"Oh, no. I don't know if Makepeace Smith even knows his old prentice is back in town - though you can bet that if the word reached me that fast, it got to him in half the time! I just know that Makepeace has been bragging so much on how Alvin robbed him that if he don't serve papers on the boy, everybody's going to know it was just empty talk. So he's got to bring the boy to trial, don't you see?"
Vilate smiled a little smile to herself.
"Already planning what you're going to bring to him in jail?" asked her friend.
"Or something," said Vilate.
* * *
Alvin woke from his nap to find Arthur Stuart gone and the room half-dark. The traveling must have taken more out of him than he thought, to make him sleep the afternoon away.
A knock on the door. "Open up, now, Alvin," said Horace. "The sheriff's just doing his job, he tells me, but there's no way out of it."
So it must have been a knock on the door that woke him in the first place. Alvin swung his legs off the bed and took the single step that got him to the door. "It wasn't barred," he said as he opened it. "You only had to give it a push."
Sheriff Po Doggly looked downright sheepish. "Oh, it's just Makepeace Smith, Alvin. Everybody knows he's talking through his hat, but he's gone and got a warrant on you, to charge you with stealing his treasure trove."
"Treasure?" asked Alvin. "I never heard of no treasure."
"Claims you dug up the gold digging a well for him, and moved the well so nobody'd know - "
"I moved the well cause I struck solid stone," said Alvin. "If I found gold, why would that make me move the well? That don't even make sense."
"And that's what you'll say in court, and the jury will believe you just fine," said Sheriff Doggly. "Everybody knows Makepeace is just talking through his hat."
Alvin sighed. He'd heard the rumors flying hither and yon about the golden plow and how it was stolen from a blacksmith that Alvin prenticed with, but he never thought Makepeace would have the face to take it to court, where he'd be proved a liar for sure. "I give you my word I won't