alks feverish."

Serina fairly gurgled: "Prepare yourself for the grandest surprise.
You'd never guess."

And William had to jump to beat her to the news: "Tawm Kinch wants to
marry you."

"What?"

"Yep."

"What makes you think so?"

"He asked me."

"Asked you!"

Serina clasped her hands and her eyes filled with tears of the rescued.
"Oh, Prue, ain't it wonderful? Ain't the Lord good to us?"

Prue did not catch fire from the blaze. She sniffed, "He wasn't very
good to Tawm Kinch."

William, bitter with disappointment, snapped: "What do you mean? He's
the richest man in town. Some folks say he's as good as worth a hundred
thousand dollars."

"Well, what of it? He'll never learn to dance. His feet interfere."

"What's dancing got to do with it? You'll stop all that foolishness
after you've married Tawm."

"Oh, will I? Ort Hippisley can dance better with one foot than Tawm
Kinch could dance if he was a centipede."

"Ort Hippisley! Humph! He's lost his job and he'll never get another.
You couldn't marry him."

"I'm not in any hurry to marry anybody."

The reaction from hope to confusion, the rejection of the glittering
gift he proffered, infuriated the hen-pecked, chickpecked father. He
shrieked:

"Well, you're going to marry Tawm Kinch or you're going to get out of my
house!"

"Papa!" gasped Ollie.

"Here, dad!" growled Horace.

"William!" cried Serina.

William thumped the table and rose to his full height. He had not often
risen to it. And his voice had an unsuspected timbre:

"I mean it. I've been a worm in this house long enough. Here's where I
turn. This girl has made me a laughing-stock and a despising-stock long
enough. She can take this grand opportunity I got for her or she can
pack up her duds and clear out--for good!"

He thumped the table again and sat down trembling with spent rage.
Serina was so crushed under the crumbled wall of her air-castles that
she could not protest. Olive and Horace felt that since Prue was so
indifferent to their happiness they need not consider hers. There was a
long, long silence.

The sound of a low whistle outside stole into the silence. Prue rose and
said, quietly:

"Ollie, would you mind packing my things for me? I'll send over for them
when I know where I'll be."

Ollie tried to answer, but her lips made no sound. Prue kissed each of
the solemn faces round the table, including her father's. They might
have been dead in their chairs for all