I don't really know what then. Seems to me the very first thing
would be for you to speak to him, put the question right up to him,
same as he's been puttin' it to himself all this time. Get him to
talk it over with you. And then--well, then--"

"Yes?"

"Oh, I don't know! I declare I don't."

"Suppose he tells me he means to marry her in spite of everything?
Suppose he won't listen to me at all?"

That possibility had been in Jed's mind from the beginning, but he
refused to consider it.

"He will listen," he declared, stoutly. "He always has, hasn't he?"

"Yes, yes, I suppose he has. He listened to me when I persuaded
him that coming here and hiding all--all that happened was the
right thing to do. And now see what has come of it! And it is all
my fault. Oh, I have been so selfish!"

"Sshh! sshh! You ain't; you couldn't be if you tried. And,
besides, I was as much to blame as you. I agreed that 'twas the
best thing to do."

"Oh," reproachfully, "how can you say that? You know you were
opposed to it always. You only say it because you think it will
comfort me. It isn't true."

"Eh? Now--now, don't talk so. Please don't. If you keep on
talkin' that way I'll do somethin' desperate, start to make a
johnny cake out of sawdust, same as I did yesterday mornin', or
somethin' else crazy."

"Jed!"

"It's true, that about the johnny cake. I came pretty nigh doin'
that very thing. I bought a five-pound bag of corn meal yesterday
and fetched it home from the store all done up in a nice neat
bundle. Comin' through the shop here I had it under my arm, and--
hum--er--well, to anybody else it couldn't have happened, but,
bein' Jed Shavin's Winslow, I was luggin' the thing with the top of
the bag underneath. I got about abreast of the lathe there when
the string came off and in less'n two thirds of a shake all I had
under my arm was the bag; the meal was on the floor--what wasn't in
my coat pocket and stuck to my clothes and so on. I fetched the
water bucket and started to salvage what I could of the cargo.
Pretty soon I had, as nigh as I could reckon it, about fourteen
pound out of the five scooped up and in the bucket. I begun to
think the miracle of loaves and fishes was comin' to pass again. I
was some shy on fish, but I was makin' up on loaves. Then I sort
of looked matters over and found what I had in the bucket was about
one pound of meal to seven of sawdust. Then I gave it up. Seemed
t