. She said "No"--then changed to "Yes"--and then
stopped short and began to blubber uncouthly, dabbing her eyes
alternately with the backs of her wrists.

Eddie stared awhile, then yielded to an imperious urge to clasp her to
his heart and comfort her. She twisted out of his arms, and snapped,
"Don't you touch me, Eddie Pouch!"

Eddie mumbled, inanely, "You didn't mind it this mornin', buggy-ridin'."

Her answer completely flabbergasted him:

"No; because you didn't have all that money then."

"Gee whiz, Pheeny!" he gasped. "What you got against Uncle Loren's
money? It ain't a disease, is it? It's not ketchin', is it?"

"No," she sobbed; "but we--Well, when you were so poor and all, I
thought you might--you might really like me because I could be of
some--of some use to you; but now you--you needn't think I'm goin' to
hold you to any--anything against your will."

Eddie realized that across the street somebody had stopped to listen.
Eddie wanted to throw a rock at whoever it was, but Ellaphine absorbed
him as she wailed:

"It 'd be just like you to be just's nice to me as ever; but I'm not
goin' to tie you down to any homely old crow like me when you got money
enough to marry anybody. You can get Luella Thickins back now. You could
marry the Queen of England if you'd a mind to."

Eddie could find nothing better to say than, "Well, I'll be dog-on'd!"

While he gaped she got away.

IV

Luella Thickins cast her spells over Eddie with all her might, but he
understood them now and escaped through their coarse meshes. She was so
resolute, however, that he did not dare trust himself alone in the same
town with her unless he had a chaperon.

He sent a note to Ellaphine, saying he was in dire trouble and needed
her help. This brought him the entree to her parlor. He told her the
exact situation and begged her to rescue him from Luella.

Ellaphine's craggy features grew as radiant as a mountain peak in the
sunrise. The light made beautiful what it illumined. She consented at
last to believe in Eddie's devotion, or at least in his need of her; and
the homely thing enjoyed the privilege of being pleaded for and of
yielding to the prayers of an ardent lover.

She assumed that the marriage could not take place for several years, if
ever. She wanted to give Eddie time to be sure of his heart; but Eddie
was stubborn and said:

"Seein' as we're agreed on gettin' married, let's have the wedding right
away and get it