I had offended Gussie and I knew she would not be easily appeased . Nor was she . For a week she kept me politely , studiously , at a distance , in spite of my most humble advances . Rev. Carroll was a frequent caller , ostensibly to make arrangements about a Sunday school they were organizing in a poor part of the community . Gussie and he held long conversations on this enthralling subject . Then Gussie went on another visit to her friend , and when she came back so did Rev. Carroll . One calm , hazy afternoon I was coming slowly up from the mills . Happening to glance at the kitchen roof , I gasped . It was on fire in one place . Evidently the dry shingles had caught fire from a spark . There was not a soul about save Gussie , Aunt Lucy , and myself . I dashed wildly into the kitchen , where Gussie was peeling apples . `` The house is on fire , '' I exclaimed . Gussie dropped her knife and turned pale . `` Do n't wake Mother , '' was all she said , as she snatched a bucket of water from the table . The ladder was still lying by the well . In a second I had raised it to the roof and , while Gussie went up it like a squirrel and dashed the water on the flames , I had two more buckets ready for her . Fortunately the fire had made little headway , though a few minutes more would have given it a dangerous start . The flames hissed and died out as Gussie threw on the water , and in a few seconds only a small black hole in the shingles remained . Gussie slid down the ladder .
She trembled in every limb , but she put out her wet hand XXXXX me with a faint , triumphant smile .
For In about as at by into on though to