-piece. He sighed,
with deep discouragement.

Mrs. North sighed too. Neither of them spoke for a moment; then the
little old lady drew a quick breath and flashed a look at him; opened
her lips; closed them with a snap; then regarded the toe of her slipper
fixedly. The color flooded up to her soft white hair.

The Captain, staring hopelessly, suddenly blinked; then his honest red
face slowly broadened into beaming astonishment and satisfaction. "_Mrs.
North_--"

"Captain Price!" she parried, breathlessly.

"So long as our affectionate children have suggested it!"

"Suggested--what?"

"Let's give 'em something to cry about!"

"Alfred!"

"Look here: we are two old fools; so they say, anyway. Let's live up to
their opinion. I'll get a house for Cyrus and Gussie--and your girl can
live with 'em, if she wants to!" The Captain's bitterness showed then.

"She could live here," murmured Mrs. North.

"What do you say?"

The little old lady laughed excitedly, and shook her head; the tears
stood in her eyes.

"Do you want to leave Old Chester?" the Captain demanded.

"You know I don't," she said, sighing.

"She'd take you away to-morrow," he threatened, "if she knew I had--I
had--"

"She sha'n't know it."

"Well, then, we've got to get spliced to-morrow."

"Oh, Alfred, no! I don't believe Dr. Lavendar would--"

"I'll have no dealings with Lavendar," the Captain said, with sudden
stiffness; "he's like all the rest of 'em. I'll get a license in Upper
Chester, and we'll go to some parson there."

Mrs. North's eyes snapped. "Oh, no, no!" she protested; but in another
minute they were shaking hands on it.

"Cyrus and Gussie can go and live by themselves," said the Captain,
joyously, "and I'll get that hold cleaned out; she's kept the ports shut
ever since she married Cyrus."

"And I'll make a cake! And I'll take care of your clothes; you really
are dreadfully shabby"; she turned him round to the light, and brushed
off some ashes. The Captain beamed. "Poor Alfred! and there's a button
gone! that daughter-in-law of yours can't sew any more than a cat (and
she _is_ a cat!). But I love to mend. Mary has saved me all that. She's
such a good daughter--poor Mary. But she's unmarried, poor child."

* * * * *

However, it was not to-morrow. It was two or three days later that Dr.
Lavendar and Danny, jogging along behind Goliath under the buttonwoods
on the road to Upper Chester, were