m like nothin' a tall, 'n' he says as you can't maybe get the full
sense o' that but it's there just the same. I tell you, Mrs. Lathrop,
you can see that man has suffered. I asked him was he afraid of mice
too, 'n' he bristled up pretty sharp 'n' said he wa'n't afraid of
gophers, only they took you so unawares. I had to tell him right there
to look out for the cistern lid, 'n' he hitched over by the table again
'n' then he said, Well, so it went all summer. He said he got so tired
o' gophers, 'n' moonlight, 'n' hittin' her nose hard by accident, times
when he was n't thinkin', as he was nothin' but glad when September come
'round. He says he 'd figgered all along on bein' married in September,
'n' he never for one moment mistrusted as he wouldn't be; but he says of
all the awful things to count on, Tilly Pearson was the worst. Oh! my,
he says, but she was cranky! 'n' then he rubbed his chin with his hand a
long while 'n' then said 'cranky,' over again in a very hard tone. He
says would you believe it that after all his love-makin' along the first
o' September she begin to get terrible uppish 'n' throw her head aroun'
'n' put on airs 'n' he was just dumbfounded at her goin's on."

"What--" asked Mrs. Lathrop.

"Then he says one awful day when he was stackin' straw, Old Pearson told
him flat 'n' plain as if he was n't goin' to marry Tilly, he need n't
count on spendin' the winter as their company. Well, he says you can
maybe realize what a shock that was. He says his nose was just smashed
numb 'n' his sleep was full o' grabbin' at 'em in his dreams 'n' now it
looked like all was for nothin' a _tall_. Still he says he scraped up a
smile 'n' a cheerful look 'n' told Old Pearson as he was more 'n willin'
to marry Tilly for his winter's board but it was Tilly as was makin' the
trouble. He says Old Pearson looked sort of surprised at that, but he
thought a little while 'n' then he told him as if he was smart he 'd
find a way to bring Tilly to her senses, 'cause every woman had some way
to be brought to her senses, 'n' then he went off 'n' left him to think.

"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, you can see without any tryin' that that man
suffered. I pretty near stopped 'n' burnt jus' to listen to him. He says
as he sit there plum beside hisself 'n' most cried from not knowin' what
under Heaven's name to do. He says he was placed most awful with winter
starin' him stark in the face 'n' no warm place to stay. He says nobody
knows how it feels