"He should have been shut up somewhere," she said. "It's disgraceful
letting him walk about everywhere just like any one else."
"Shut up!" cried Maggie. "Oh, no! I don't think any one ought to be
shut up for anything."
"My dear Maggie!" said Paul in his fatherly protecting voice. "No
prisons? Think what would become of us all."
"Oh!" said Maggie impatiently, "I'm not practical of course, I don't
know what one should do, but I do know that no one should be shut
up."
"Chut-chut--" said Grace.
Now this "Chut, chut," may seem a very little thing, but very little
things are sometimes of great importance. Marriages have been
wrecked on an irritating cough and happy homes ruined by a shuffle.
Grace had said "Chut, chut," for a great many years and to many
people. It expressed scorn and contempt and implied a vast store of
superior knowledge. Grace herself had no idea of the irritating
nature of this exclamation, she would have been entirely amazed did
you explain to her that it had more to do with her unpopularity in
Skeaton than any other thing. She had even said "Chut, chut," to
Mrs. Constantine.
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