at risk when you cut a door through from
the main part," said his father genially. "If you hadn't done that, your
mother would 'a' had to gone round outside to git int' the ell and mebbe
she'd 'a' stayed to home when it stormed, anyhow. Now your wife'll have
her troopin' in an' out, in an' out, the whole 'durin' time."

"I only cut the door through to please so't she'd favor my gittin'
married, but I guess 't won't do no good. You see, father, what I was
thinkin' of is, a girl would mebbe jump at a two-story, four-roomed ell
when she wouldn't look at a smaller place."

"Pends upon whether the girl's the jumpin' kind or not! Hadn't you
better git everything fixed up with the one you've picked out, afore you
take your good savin's and go to buildin' a bigger place for her?"

"I've asked her once a'ready," Cephas allowed, with a burning face. "I
don't s'pose you know the one I mean?"

"No kind of an idee," responded his father, with a quizzical wink that
was lost on the young man, as his eyes were fixed upon his whittling.
"Does she belong to the village?"

"I ain't goin' to let folks know who I've picked out till I git a little
mite forrarder," responded Cephas craftily. "Say, father, it's all right
to ask a girl twice, ain't it?

"Certain it is, my son. I never heerd there was any special limit to
the number o' times you could ask 'em, and their power o' sayin' 'No' is
like the mercy of the Lord; it endureth forever.--You wouldn't consider
a widder, Cephas? A widder'd be a good comp'ny-keeper for your mother."

"I hain't put my good savin's into an ell jest to marry a comp'ny-keeper
for mother," responded Cephas huffily. "I want to be number one with my
girl and start right in on trainin' her up to suit me."

"Well, if trainin' 's your object you'd better take my advice an' keep
it dark before marriage, Cephas. It's astonishin' how the female sect
despises bein' trained; it don't hardly seem to be in their nature to
make any changes in 'emselves after they once gits started."

"How are you goin' to live with 'em, then?" Cephas inquired, looking up
with interest coupled with some incredulity.

"Let them do the training," responded his father, peacefully puffing out
the words with his pipe between his lips. "Some of 'em's mild and gentle
in discipline, like Parson Boone's wife or Mis' Timothy Grant, and
others is strict and firm like your mother and Mis' Abel Day. If you
happen to git the first kind, why, do as t