Chapter 17 The Basket of Butter

Mistress Tull came to the hall at dusk on the thirty-ninth day, and she came with her basket of butter, and the basket of butter was heavy, and she could not carry it, and she stood in the yard with the basket at her feet, and the basket had wax around the edges and salt on the top, and she said to Kessin, "The road is long." "The road is long," said Kessin. "The road is long," said Mistress Tull. "And the butter is heavy." "The butter is heavy," said Kessin. "And the hall has a donkey." "The hall has a donkey," said Mistress Tull. "And the donkey does not go to Gillanwick." "The donkey does not go to Gillanwick," said Kessin. "But the hall has Wist." "Wist," said Mistress Tull. "Wist," said Kessin. "He will take the butter." "He will take the butter," said Mistress Tull. "He will take the butter to Gillanwick and back," said Kessin. "And the hall will pay you one crown." "One crown," said Mistress Tull. "And the hall will have the butter." "The hall will have the butter," said Kessin. She put the basket on the wheel and she took her hat and she put it on, and she looked at Kessin, and Kessin looked at her, and the donkey looked at the basket, and the basket looked at the donkey, and she said, "My mother's mother made this butter." "I know," said Kessin. "My mother's mother made this butter," said Mistress Tull. "And my mother made this butter, and I make this butter, and the road is long, and the road is the road, and the hall is the hall." "The hall is the hall," said Kessin. She went out through the gate, and the gate opened and closed behind her, and Kessin sat at the table with the pen and the ledger, and she wrote the card, and the card said: Band. The basket of butter from the mill house to Gillanwick and back. Fare: one crown. Name: Wist Fennimore. She put the seal on the card and she put the card on the board, and the board had seven cards on it, and the seventh card had her name on it, and the sixth card had her name on it, and the fifth card had Wist's name on it, and the fourth card had the boy's name on it, and the third card had the man's name on it, and the second card had the smith's name on it, and the first card had Hobb's name on it. "The hall has seven cards," said Kessin. "The hall has seven cards," said Turrel. "The hall has seven fares," said Kessin. "The hall has seven fares," said Turrel. "Then the hall has not given out the seventh name," said Turrel. "The hall has not given out the seventh name," said Kessin. "Then the hall will be the hall," said Kessin. She put the pen down and she took the ledger and she put it on the shelf, and she went to the yard, and the donkey was at the gate, and the donkey looked at her, and she looked at the donkey, and she said, "The hall has given out the seventh name." The donkey did not say anything. Kessin went back in to the hall and she sat at the table, and Turrel came in from the kitchen with the pot and the cloth, and the bread was on the shelf and the coffee was on the stove, and the board had seven cards on it, and the seventh card had Mistress Tull's job on it, and the sixth card had Kessin's name on it, and the fifth card had Wist's name on it, and the board was the board. "The hall has seven cards," said Turrel. "The hall has seven cards," said Kessin. "The hall has eight fares," said Turrel. "The hall has eight fares," said Kessin. "The hall has paid the debt," said Turrel. "No," said Kessin. "The hall has not paid the debt." "The hall has not paid the debt," said Turrel. "The hall has eight fares and the hall owes eleven pounds and nine shillings and nine pence, and the hall will pay the debt when the hall has eleven pounds." "Then the hall will pay the debt," said Kessin. "When?" said Turrel. "When the hall has eleven pounds," said Kessin. "Then the hall will have eleven pounds," said Turrel. "And the hall will pay the debt, and the hall will be the hall." "Then the hall will be the hall," said Kessin. "And the hall will have the seventh name." "The hall will have the seventh name," said Turrel. "And the seventh name is blank." "The seventh name is blank," said Kessin. "Then the hall will have the seventh name," said Turrel. "When the hall has given out the seventh name." "When the hall has given out the seventh name," said Kessin. "And the hall will have given out the seventh name," said Turrel. "When the hall has given out a seventh card." "And the hall has given out a seventh card," said Kessin. "Then the hall has given out the seventh name," said Kessin. She put the pen down and she looked at the board, and the board had seven cards on it, and the seventh card had Mistress Tull's job on it, and the seventh card had her name on it, and the seventh card was blank, and she did not write on the seventh card, because the seventh card was the seventh card, and the seventh name was the seventh name, and the seventh name was blank, and the seventh name would be filled, when the hall gave out the seventh name. She took the ledger and she put it on the shelf, and she took the lamp and she went to the room at the back, and she lay on the bench, and the door held the sound of her going in, and the yard was the yard, and the road was the road, and the board was the board, and the hall was the hall, and she slept. ---