certain--Sarah Gilmore was not to blame if the people of Orangeville did
not know Charles Herne was married.

When Green entered the house his wife said: "Horace, what do you think?
Charles Herne has brought home a bride."

"A what?" said her husband.

"A bride," said his wife. "May be it's so long since you saw a bride,
you have entirely forgotten how one looks. You had better hustle round
and pony up that seventy-five dollars you are owing him. He will need it
to buy silks, satins and laces for the bride."

"Hell's to pay," said Green.

Early the same morning Henry Storms entered the "Crow's Nest" saloon in
Orangeville, where two men were talking over the bar to the
saloon-keeper. Storms, walking up to where they were, saluted them by
saying: "Hell's broke loose."

"What's up now?" said one of the men.

"Why," said Storms, "Charles Herne has got a running mate."

"Drinks for four," called out another man.

When the drinks were ready four men raised their glasses, one saying,
"Drink hearty to Charles Herne and his partner."

At the conclusion of the toast four glasses of whiskey were emptied down
four men's throats.

A man went down from his house to the road where his mailbox was nailed
to a redwood post. The stage was just coming in.

"Any news?" asked the man of the stage-driver as he took his mail.

"News!" said the driver. "I should say there was. They tell me that
Charles Herne has been, and gone, and done it."

Saunders, the merchant of Orangeville, told his customers that day that
"Charles Herne had got spliced."

Tim Collins took a span of kicking mules to Pierce, the blacksmith, to
be shod.

"Well, Tim, I got some news for you," said Pierce.

"What is it?" said Tim.

"Charles Herne has got hitched up."

Now one could not discern any perceptible change in Charles Herne, if it
were true that he had done all the many and varied things which his
neighbors stated he had; such as "Brought home a brand-new wife," "Got
him a woman," "Got a bride," "Got a running mate," "Been, gone, and done
it," "Got spliced," "Got hitched up," and so on.

The waves of ether in the atmosphere of Orangeville were pregnant with
all these sayings and produced such an effect on a number of ladies as
to make them call at different times at the Treelawn home.

When some of the ladies had made a call and had seen Mrs. Herne, and
these ladies saw some others in Orangeville who had not seen Mrs. Herne,
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