I feel as if I could enjoy life once more , she said to herself . Goodness me , if I 'd had to keep that money by me for a week itself , I 'd have been a raving lunatic by the end of it . Miss Calista had shopping to do and friends to visit in town , so that the dull autumn day was well nigh spent when she finally got back to Cooperstown and paused at the corner store to get a bundle of matches . The store was full of men , smoking and chatting around the fire , and Miss Calista , whose pet abomination was tobacco smoke , was not at all minded to wait any longer than she could help . But Abiram Fell was attending to a previous customer , and Miss Calista sat grimly down by the counter to wait her turn . The door opened , letting in a swirl of raw November evening wind and Ches Maybin . He nodded sullenly to Mr. Fell and passed down the store to mutter a message to a man at the further end . Miss Calista lifted her head as he passed and sniffed the air as a charger who scents battle . The smell of tobacco was strong , and so was that of the open boxes of dried herring on the counter , but plainly , above all the commingled odours of a country grocery , Miss Calista caught a whiff of peppermint , so strong as to leave no doubt of its origin . There had been no hint of it before Ches Maybin 's entrance . The latter did not wait long . He was out and striding along the shadowy road when Miss Calista left the store and drove smartly after him . It never took Miss Calista long to make up her mind about anything , and she had weighed and passed judgement on Ches Maybin 's case while Mr. Fell was doing up her matches . The lad glanced up furtively as she checked her fat grey pony beside him . `` Good evening , Chester , '' she said with brisk kindness . `` I can give you a lift , if you are going my way . Jump in , quick -- Dapple is a little restless . '' A wave of crimson , duskily perceptible under his sunburned skin , surged over Ches Maybin 's face . It almost seemed as if he were going to blurt out a blunt refusal . But Miss Calista 's face was so guileless and her tone so friendly , that he thought better of it and sprang in beside her , and Dapple broke into an impatient trot down the long hill lined with its bare , wind-writhen maples .
After a few minutes ' silence Miss Calista turned XXXXX her moody companion .
after around as at before for than that to with