He laughed in her face. "Marry _you_? Well, I guess not," said he. "Do
you take me for an idiot?"

"You ain't obliged to stick by it," she continued. "We're in Indiana,
ain't we? We'll take a minister and a lawyer along with us. While the
minister is marrying us, the lawyer can be at work on the divorce
papers. When you are JEFFRY MAULBOY again, a single man, and I'm once
more ANN BRUMMET. spinster, I'll go away and never trouble you again.
There's no risk. I go in ANN BRUMMET, and come out ANN BRUMMET, all
inside of two hours, and there's nobody to tell of it. The lawyer and
minister are used to it, you see, and the secret's safe with _them_."

JEFFRY MAULBOY took an unusually large chew of tobacco, and thought it
all over.

"I won't do it," he finally said.

"All right, then," she replied; "I'll write to Mrs. CUPID and tell her
the whole story, and I'll stay here besides. It'll be hard enough on me
for a while if I go, and harder still if I stay; but I'll do it to
_spite you_. I'll break off your match with Mrs. CUPID if I _do_ stay,
now mark my words."

JEFFRY MAULBOY walked back and forth, and emitted the choicest string
of curses that his extensive and valuable collection enabled him to
cull. At last he stopped in front of her, and said savagely:

"I'll do it. But if you ever lisp a word to any living soul till I'm
safely married to CUPID, I'll kill you, dead sure. Do you hear that?"