Joanna's approach to a subject was ever direct, but this time she seemed
to have taken the breath out of Arthur's body.

"Ellen ... sweet on me?" he gasped.

"Yes, you blind-eyed owl. I've seen it for a dunnamany weeks."

"But--Ellen? That liddle girl ud never care an onion for a dull, dry
chap lik me."

"Reckon she would. You ain't such a bad chap, Arthur, though I could
never bring myself to take you."

"Well, I must say I haven't noticed anything, or maybe I'd have spoken
to you about it. I'm unaccountable sorry, Jo, and I'll do all I can to
help you stop it."

"I'm not sure I want to stop it. I was thinking only to-day as it
wouldn't be a bad plan if you married Ellen."

"But, Jo, I don't want to marry anybody but you."

"Reckon that's middling stupid of you, for I'll never marry you, Arthur
Alce--_never_!"

"Then I don't want nobody."

"Oh, yes, you do. You'll be a fool if you don't marry and get a wife to
look after you and your house, which has wanted new window-blinds this
eighteen month. You can't have me, so you may as well have Ellen--she's
next best to me, I reckon, and she's middling sweet on you."

"Ellen's a dear liddle thing, as I've always said against them that said
otherwise--but I've never thought of marrying her, and reckon she don't
want to marry me, she'd sooner marry a stout young Southland or young
Vine."

"She ain't going to marry any young Vine. When she marries I'll see she
marries a steady, faithful, solid chap, and you're the best I know."

"It's kind of you to say it, but reckon it wouldn't be a good thing for
me to marry one sister when I love the other."

"But you'll never get the other, not till the moon's cheese, so there's
no sense in vrothering about that. And I want Ellen to marry you,
Arthur, since she's after you. I never meant her to marry yet awhiles,
but reckon I can't make her happy at home--I've tried and I can't--so
you may as well try."

"It ud be difficult to make Ellen happy--she's a queer liddle dentical
thing."

"I know, but marriage is a wonderful soberer-down. She'll be happy once
she gets a man and a house of her own."

"I'm not so sure. Anyways I'm not the man for her. She should ought to
marry a gentleman."

"Well, there ain't none for her to marry, nor likely to be none. She'll
go sour if she has to stand ... and she wants you, Arthur. I wouldn't be
asking you this if I hadn't seen she wanted you, and seen too as the
best thing as could h