I make it a point to get what I go after." Emily, in her letters, those written soon after her arrival in South Middleboro, said nothing concerning her plan, the "secret" which was to cheer Mrs.Barnes' loneliness.

Thankful could not help wondering what the secret might be, but in her own letters she asked no questions.

And, one day in mid-October, that secret was divulged.
Thankful, busy in the kitchen with Imogene, preparing dinner, heard the sound of wheels and horse's hoofs in the yard.

Going to the door, she was surprised to see Captain Obed Bangs climbing from a buggy.

The buggy was her own and the horse to which it was attached was her own George Washington.