ther by a son save when they two stood quite alone; and Adam,
after meeting a second look from Eve, shook his head, feeling satisfied
that she would know that only some grave requirement deterred him from
immediately announcing the happiness which henceforth was to crown his
life. But our intuition, at the best, is somewhat narrow, and where the
heart is most concerned most faulty: therefore Eve, and Adam too, felt
each disappointed in the other's want of acquiescence, and inclined to
be critical on the lack of mutual sympathy.

Suddenly the door opened and in walked Jerrem, smiling and apparently
more radiant than usual under the knowledge that he was more than
usually an offender. Joan, who had her own reasons for being very
considerably put out with him, was not disposed to receive him very
graciously; Adam vouchsafed him no notice whatever; Uncle Zebedee,
oppressed by the sense of former good fellowship, thought it discreet
not to evince too much cordiality; so that the onus of the morning's
welcome was thrown upon Eve, who, utterly ignorant of any offence Jerrem
had given, thought it advisable to make amends for the pettish
impatience she feared she had been betrayed into on the previous
morning.

Old Zebedee, whose resolves seldom lasted over ten minutes, soon fell
into the swing of Jerrem's flow of talk; a little later on and Joan was
forced to put in a word; so that the usual harmony was just beginning to
recover itself when, in answer to a remark which Jerrem had made, Eve
managed to turn the laugh so cleverly back upon him that Zebedee, well
pleased to see what good friends they were growing, exclaimed, "Stop her
mouth! stop her mouth, lad! I'd ha' done it when I was your years twenty
times over 'fore this. Her's too sarcy--too sarcy by half, her is."

Up started Jerrem, but Adam was before him. "I don't know whether what
I'm going to say is known to anybody here already," he burst out, "but I
think it's high time that some present should be told by me that Eve has
promised to be my wife;" and, turning, he cast a look of angry defiance
at Jerrem, who, thoroughly amazed, gradually sank down and took
possession of his chair again, while old Zebedee went through the dumb
show of giving a long whistle, and Joan, muttering an unmeaning
something, ran hastily out of the room. Eve, angry and confused, turned
from white to red and from red to white.

A silence ensued--one of those pauses when some event of our live