Mary Vance eyed her gloomily . Knowing what she knew , or fancied she knew , Mary considered that Faith was far too light-hearted . Mary had something on her mind to say and she meant to say it before she went home . Mrs. Elliott had sent her up to the manse with some new-laid eggs , and had told her not to stay longer than half an hour . The half hour was nearly up , so Mary uncurled her cramped legs from under her and said abruptly , `` Never mind about the air . Just you listen to me . You manse young ones have just got to behave yourselves better than you 've been doing this spring -- that 's all there is to it . I just come up to-night a-purpose to tell you so . The way people are talking about you is awful . '' `` What have we been doing now ? '' cried Faith in amazement , pulling her arm away from Mary . Una 's lips trembled and her sensitive little soul shrank within her . Mary was always so brutally frank . Jerry began to whistle out of bravado . He meant to let Mary see he did n't care for HER tirades . Their behaviour was no business of HERS anyway . What right had SHE to lecture them on their conduct ? `` Doing now ! You 're doing ALL the time , '' retorted Mary . `` Just as soon as the talk about one of your didos fades away you do something else to start it up again .
It seems to me you have n't any idea of how manse children ought XXXXX behave ! ''
about before for from in of on than to within