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198   The Conjure Woman

   I hoped that time might heal the
breach and bring the two young people
together again. I told my wife what I
had overheard. In return she gave me
Mabel's version of the affair.
   "I do not see how it can ever be settled,"
my wife said. "It is something 
more than a mere lovers' quarrel. It
began, it is true, because she found fault
with him for going to church with that
hateful Branson girl. But before it
ended there were things said that no
woman of any spirit could stand. I am
afraid it is all over between them."
   I was sorry to hear this. In spite of
the very firm attitude taken by my wife
and her sister, I still hoped that the
quarrel would be made up within a day
or two. Nevertheless, when a week had
passed with no word from young Murchison,
and with no sign of relenting on 
Mabel's part, I began to think myself 
mistaken.