I'm goin' to do it. Come on now; let's."

Caleb was, as has been said, "sot" in his ways. He was "sot" now, and
although Hannah continued to protest and declare she could not do such
a thing, she yielded at last. Mr. Hammond left the Parker cottage in
a triumphant mood. He had won his point and that had pleased him for a
time; then, as he began to ponder upon that point and its consequences
his triumph changed to misgiving and doubt. He had had no idea, until
that forenoon, of marrying again. His proposal had been made on impulse,
on the spur of the moment. He was not sure that he wished to marry
Hannah Parker. But he had pleaded and persuaded her into accepting him
that very night. Even if he wished to back out, how could he--now? He
was conscious of an uneasy feeling that, perhaps, he had made a fool of
himself.

He went to his room early in the evening and stayed there, looking at
his watch and waiting for the rest of the family to retire. He heard
Georgie's voice in the room at the end of the hall, where Mrs. Barnes
was tucking the youngster in for the night. Later he heard Imogene come
up the backstairs and, after her, Thankful herself. But it was nearly
eleven before Heman Daniels' important and dignified step sounded on the
front stairs and by that time the Hammond nerves were as taut as banjo
strings.

It was nearly twelve before he dared creep downstairs and out of the
back door, the key of which he left in the lock. Luckily the barn was
a good distance from the house and Mrs. Barnes and Imogene were sound
sleepers. But even with those advantages he did not dare attempt
getting the buggy out of the barn, and decided to use the old discarded
carryall, relic of "Cap'n Abner," which now stood under the open shed at
the rear.

George Washington looked at him in sleepy wonder as he tiptoed into
the barn and lit the lantern. To be led out of his stall at "midnight's
solemn hour" and harnessed was more than George's equine reasoning could
fathom. The harnessing was a weird and wonderful operation. Caleb's
trembling fingers were all thumbs. After a while, however, the
harnessing was accomplished somehow and in some way, although whether
the breeching was where the bridle should have been or vice versa was
more than the harnesser would have dared swear. After several centuries,
as the prospective bridegroom was reckoning time, the horse was between
the shafts of the carriage and driven very carefully along the road