o stop
us!"

"I'm not going to try to stop you."

"But Gussie said you said--"

"Alfred, at your time of life, are you beginning to quote Gussie?"

"But she said you said it would be--"

"Captain Price, I do not express my opinion of your conduct to your
daughter-in-law. You ought to have sense enough to know that."

"Well, why did you talk to her about it?"

"I didn't talk to her about it. But," said Dr. Lavendar, thrusting out
his lower lip, "I should like to."

"We were going to hunt up a parson in Upper Chester," said the Captain,
sheepishly.

Dr. Lavendar looked about, up and down the silent, shady road, then
through the bordering elder-berries into an orchard. "If you have your
license," he said, "I have my prayer-book. Let's go into the orchard.
There are two men working there we can get for witnesses--Danny isn't
quite enough, I suppose."

[Illustration: THERE WAS A LITTLE SILENCE, AND THEN DR. LAVENDER BEGAN]

The Captain turned to Mrs. North. "What do you say, ma'am?" he said. She
nodded, and gathered up her skirts to get out of the buggy. The two old
men led their horses to the side of the road and hitched them to the
rail fence; then the Captain helped Mrs. North through the elder-bushes,
and shouted out to the men ploughing at the other side of the orchard.
They came--big, kindly young fellows, and stood gaping at the three old
people standing under the apple-tree in the sunshine. Dr. Lavendar
explained that they were to be witnesses, and the boys took off their
hats.

There was a little silence, and then, in the white shadows and perfume
of the orchard, with its sunshine, and drift of petals falling in the
gay wind, Dr. Lavendar began.... When he came to "Let no man put
asunder--" Captain Price growled in his grizzled red beard, "Nor woman,
either!" But only Mrs. North smiled.

When it was over, Captain Price drew a deep breath of relief. "Well,
this time we made a sure thing of it, Mrs. North!"

"_Mrs. North?_" said Dr. Lavendar; and then he did chuckle.

"Oh--" said Captain Price, and roared at the joke.

"You'll have to call me Letty," said the pretty old lady, smiling and
blushing.

"Oh," said the Captain; then he hesitated. "Well, now, if you don't
mind, I--I guess I won't call you Letty. I'll call you Letitia."

"Call me anything you want to," said Mrs. Price, gayly.

Then they all shook hands with one another and with the witnesses, who
found something left in their palms th