"An' you tell him to give Davie a Saturday, here an' there, to go
fishin' in, an' not let him do so many chores. Now, you hear! Your
father must drive the cows, an' he must give Davie time to play a
little, or there'll be dark days comin', an' he won't be prepared for
'em."

"My!" exclaimed Rosa, blankly. "My! Ain't it queer! It kind o' scares
me. But, Dilly,"--she turned about, so that only one flushed cheek
remained visible,--"Dilly, 'ain't you got something to say to me? We're
going to be married next Tuesday, Elvin and me. It's all right, ain't
it?"

Dilly bent forward, and peered masterfully into her face. She took the
girl's plump pink handy and drew her forward. Rosa, as if compelled by
some unseen force, turned about, and allowed her frightened gaze to lie
ensnared by the witch's great black eyes. Dilly began, in a deep
intense voice, with the rhythm of the Methodist exhorter, though on a
lower key,--

"Two years, that boy's been arter you. Two years, you trampled on him
as if he'd been the dust under your feet. He was poor an' strugglin'.
He was left with his mother to take care on, an' a mortgage to work off.
An' then his house burnt down, an' he got his insurance money; an' that
minute, you turned right round an' says, 'I'll have you.' An' now, you
say, 'Is it all right?' _Is_ it right, Rosy Tolman? You tell _me_!"

Rosa was sobbing hysterically.

"Oh, I wish you wouldn't scare me so!" she exclaimed, yet not for a
moment attempting to withdraw her hand, or turn aside her terrified