about her
housework，
sitting
for that
unvarying
period at
the
scarred
desk， or
talking，
listening，
to the
negro
women who
came to
the house
from both
directions
up and
downthe
road，
following
paths
which had
been years
in the
wearing
and which
radiated
from the
house like
wheelspokes。
What they
talked
about to
her he did
not know，
though he
had
watched
them
approaching
the house
in a
manner not
exactly
secret，
yet
purposeful，
entering
