nice house."

"Great Jehoshaphat!" cried Kate. "And I bet he's got wings, too!
I do have the rottenest luck!"

"You act for all the world as if it were a foregone conclusion
that if you had been here, you'd have won him!"

Nancy Ellen glanced in the mirror and smiled, while Kate saw the
smile. She picked up her comb and drew herself to full height.

"If anything ever was a 'foregone conclusion,'" she said, "it is a
'foregone conclusion' that if I HAD been here, I'd have picked the
blackberries, and so I'd have had the first chance at him, at
least."

"Much good it would have done you!" cried Nancy Ellen. "Wait
until he comes, and you see him!"

"You may do your mushing in private," said Kate. "I don't need a
demonstration to convince me. He looks from the picture like a
man who would be as soft as a frosted pawpaw."

Nancy Ellen's face flamed crimson. "You hateful spite-cat!" she
cried.

Then she picked up the picture and laid it face down in her
drawer, while two big tears ran down her cheeks. Kate saw those
also. Instantly she relented.