Arrived at the Hat Ranch Mrs. Pennycook saw at once that Donna was "too
upset like" to have any of the details of her mother's funeral thrust
upon her. Here was a situation which required the supervision of a
calm, executive person--Mrs. Daniel Pennycook, for instance. At any
rate Mrs. Pennycook decided to take charge. She was first on the scene
and naturally the task was hers, not only as a matter of principle but
also by right of discovery.

Now, under the combined attentions of Donna, Mrs. Corblay and Soft
Wind, the house, while primitive, had, nevertheless, been made
comfortable and kept immaculate. But there is a superstition rampant in
all provincial communities which dictates that the first line of action
to be pursued when there is a death in the family is to scrub the house
thoroughly from cellar to garret, and Mrs. Pennycook had been
inoculated with the virus of this superstition very early in life. She
tucked up her skirts, seized a broom and a mop, rounded up Soft Wind
and proceeded to produce chaos where neatness and order had always
reigned.

It was at this juncture that Donna Corblay first gave evidence of
having a mind of her own. She dried her tears and gently but firmly
informed Mrs. Pennycook that the house had been thoroughly cleaned and
scrubbed three days previous. She begged Mrs. Pennycook to desist. Mrs.
Pennycook desisted, for if Donna couched her request in the language of
entreaty, her young eyes flashed a stern command, and Mrs. Pennycook
was not deficient in the intuition of her sex. So she composed herself
in a rocking chair and by blunt brutal questioning presently
ascertained that Mrs. Corblay had left her daughter two hundred and
twenty-eight dollars and ninety-five cents.