m, and she done it. She
was a master hand; a master hand!"

He shook his head, and washed the platter vigorously.

"Did it keep on that way after they grew up?" asked Mary Sands.

"Did it?" repeated Calvin. "Yes, it did! Neither one of 'em could stand
against their Ma. Folks thought the boys would marry, and that would
break it up like, but Ma wouldn't have that. 'When I find two girls as
much alike as they is boys,' she'd say, 'we'll talk about gettin'
married; till then they're wife enough for each other.'

"That was when Sam was takin' notice of Ivy Bell. She was a girl from
Vermont, come visitin' Ammi Bean's folks; her mother was sister to
Ammi. She was a pretty, slim little creatur', and I expect Sam thought
she was all creation for a spell; but she never could tell him from Sim,
and Sim didn't take to her no way, shape or manner. That suited their Ma
first rate, and she'd take a day when Sam was off to market, and then
she'd send Sim on an errant down to Bean's. I rec'lect I was there one
day when he come,--I guess I was some taken with Ivy myself, for she was
a pretty piece. When she see him she begun to roll her eyes and simper
up the way gals do--I ask your pardon, Miss Hands! I don't mean all
gals, nor I shouldn't want you to think it."

"Thank you, Mr. Parks!" said Mary demurely; "I won't!"

"Well, she did," said Calvin; "no two ways about that. 'Good mornin',
Mr. Sills,' she says, 'was you wishin' to see anyone?'

"'Yes!' says Sim, 'I want to see Mr. Bean.'

"'He's down in the medder,' says Ivy; and then she kind o' hung down her
head and looked up at him sideways. 'I don't suppose there's anyone else
would do instead, Mr. Sills?'

"'No, there ain't!' says Sim; and off he legged it to the medder."

"My!" said Mary Sands, "What did she say to that?"

"Why, I snickered right out in meetin'," said Calvin. "I just couldn't
help it; and she was so mad she whisked into the house and slammed the
door in my face, and that was the last _I_ saw of Ivy.

"But next time poor old Sam come along, slicked up for courtin', with
his heart in his vest pocket all ready to hand out, why, he got the door
in his face, too, and had to start in all over again. Well, sir--I beg
your pardon, ma'am, or I should rather say miss--that was pretty much
the way things was when I quit home, and that was pretty much the way I
expected to find 'em when I come back. It didn't seem as if a trifle of
fifteen years was going to make