king glass which was so wrinkled that he looked
like some fantastic caricature when mirrored on its surface. After a short
grace at the opening of the meal, he passed a dish of potatoes,
remarking:

"We ain't much hands t' wait on th' table, Miss Farnshaw; You'll have t'
reach an' help yourself."

"Who's this plate for?" Elizabeth asked at last, designating the vacant
place at her side.

"That's John's," said Mrs. Chamberlain.

"John Hunter's, Miss Farnshaw," said Silas. "He's our boarder, an' th'
likeliest young man in these parts." Then he added with conviction, "You
two be goin' t' like each other."

A girlish blush covered the well-tanned cheeks, and to hide her
embarrassment Elizabeth said with a laugh:

"Describe this beau ideal of yours."

"Now, Si, do let th' child alone," Mrs. Chamberlain protested. "He's
always got t' tease," she added deprecatingly.

"Sometimes I be an' sometimes not. Miss Farnshaw made me think of you some
way when I see her this afternoon." Noting his wife's look of surprise, he
explained: "I mean when I see you down to th' Cherryvale meetin' house.
An' it didn't take me long t' make up my mind after that, neither."

Mrs. Chamberlain smiled at the mention of girlhood days, but said nothing,
and Silas turned to Elizabeth again with his honest face alight with
memories of youth.

"You see, Miss Farnshaw, I'd gone out on th' hunt of a stray calf, an' an
unexpected shower came on--th' kind that rains with th' sun still a
shinin'--an' I dug my heels into old Charlie's flanks an' hurried along
down th' road to th' meeting house, a few rods farther on, when what
should I see but a pretty girl on th' steps of that same place of refuge!
Well, I begged 'er pardon, but I stayed on them there steps till that
shower cleared off. Most of th' time I was a prayin' that another cloud
would appear, an' I didn't want it no bigger than a man's hand neither.
No, sir-ee, I wouldn't 'a' cared if it'd 'a' been as big as th' whole Bay
of Biscay. An' what I was thinkin' jest now was that there was about th'
same fundamental differences 'tween you an' John Hunter that th' was
'tween Liza Ann an' me. He's light haired an' blue eyed, an tall an' slim,
an' he's openin' up a new farm, an' 'll need a wife. He talks of his
mother comin' out t' keep house for him, but, law's sakes! she wasn't
raised on a farm an' wouldn't know nothin' about farm work. Oh, yes, I
forgot t' tell you th' best part of my story: I go