But Seth went too far. He went so far that he couldn't stop himself.
And the crowd who had gathered to hear a little harmless fun now stood
petrified and heartsick. No one stirred, though everybody was wishing
themselves miles away. And Seth's voice, dripping with cruelty, went
on.
Then all at once from the heart of the crowd a little figure pushed its
way. It was Seth's wife, Ruth. She walked halfway up that flight of
stairs and looked steadily at her husband. Seth stopped in the middle
of a word.
"Seth Curtis," Ruth's face was as white as Fanny's and her voice rang
out like a silver bell, "Seth Curtis, you will apologize, ask
forgiveness of Fanny Foster, who is my friend and an old schoolmate, or
before God and these people I will disown you as my husband and the
father of my children. Fanny Foster never had an apple or a goody in
her lunch in the old school days that she didn't share it with
somebody. She has never had a dollar or a joy that she hasn't divided.
No one in Green Valley ever had a pain or a sorrow that she did not
make it hers and try to help in some way. And in all the world there
can be no more willing hands than hers."
The silver voice stopped, choked with sobs, and Ruth's eyes, looking
down on the shrunken, bowed figure of Green Valley's gossip, brimmed
over with tears.
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