Aunt Mary glanced at her sharply.

"That's what they all say, a'cordin' to the papers," she said calmly, "an'
it never is counted as anythin' but a joke."

"But I'm not joking," Janice cried.

"Then you jus' take a little time an' think it over," proposed the old
lady,--"I'll tell you what you can do. You can get me Lucinda because I
want to tell her suthin' and then you and Jack can sit down together an'
think it over anywhere an' anyhow you like."

"Do you really want Lucinda," said Janice, rising to her feet, "or is it
something that I can do? You know I'm yours just the same as ever, Aunt
Mary. Next to being good to Jack, I want to always be good to you."

Aunt Mary looked up with a light in her eyes that was fine to see.

"Bless you, my child," she said heartily. "I know that, but I really want
Lucinda, an' you an' Jack can take care of yourselves for a while.
Leastways, I hope you can. I guess you can. I presume so, anyway."

It was late that afternoon that Lucinda, looking as if she had been
accidentally overtaken by a road-roller, joined Joshua in the potato
cellar.

"Well, the sky c'n fall whenever it likes now!" she said, sitting down on
an empty barrel with a resigned sigh.

"That's a comfort to know," said Joshua.

"She's got it all made up for 'em to marry each other."

"That ain't no great news to me," said Joshua.

"Joshua Whittlesey, you make my blood boil. Things is goin' rackin' and
ruinin' at a great pace here an' you as cold as a cauliflower over it
all."

Joshua sorted potatoes phlegmatically and said nothing.

"S'posin' I'd 'a' wanted to marry him?"

Joshua continued to sort potatoes.

"Or, s'posin' you wanted to marry her?"

Joshua looked up quickly.

"Which one?" he said.

"Janice!"

"Oh," he said in a relieved tone.

"Why did you say 'oh,'--did you think I meant her?"

"I didn't know who you meant."

"Why, you wouldn't think o' marryin' her, would you?"

"No," said Joshua emphatically. "I'd as soon think o' marryin' you
yourself."

Lucinda deliberated for a minute or so as to whether to accept this insult
in silence or not, and finally decided to make just one more remark.

"I wonder if she'll send any word to Arethusa 'n' Mary."

"They'll know soon enough," said Joshua oracularly.

"How'll they know, I'd like to know?"

"You'll write 'em."

Lucinda was dumb. The fact that the letter was already written only made
the serpent-tooth of Joshua's intimate k