"Well, Alida, I'm not only satisfied with you, but I'm very grateful to
you. Why shouldn't I be when you are a good Christian woman? I guess
I'm the one to be suited, not Oakville. I should be as reckless as the
devil if you should go away from me. Don't I act like a man who's
ready to stand up for and protect you?"

"Yes, too ready. It would kill me if anything happened to you on my
account."

"Well, the worst would happen," he said firmly, "if we don't go right
on as we've begun. If we go quietly on about our own affairs, we'll
soon be let alone and that's all we ask."

"Yes, yes indeed! Don't worry, James. I'll do as you wish."

"Famous! You never said 'James' to me before. Why haven't you?"

"I don't know," she faltered, with a sudden rush of color to her pale
face.

"Well, that's my name," he resumed, laughing. "I guess it's because we
are getting better acquainted."

She looked up and said impetuously, "You don't know how a woman feels
when a man stands up for her as you did tonight."

"Well, I know how a man feels when there is a woman so well worth
standing up for. It was a lucky thing that I had nothing heavier in my
hand than that hickory." All the while he was looking at her
curiously; then he spoke his thought. "You're a quiet little woman,
Alida, most times, but you're capable of a thunder gust now and then."

"I'll try to be quiet at all times," she replied, with drooping eyes.

"Oh, I'm not complaining!" he said, laughing. "I like the trait."

He took a small pitcher and went to the dairy. Returning, he poured
out two glasses of milk and said, "Here's to your health and happiness,
Alida; and when I don't stand up for the woman who started out to save
me from a mob of murderers, may the next thing I eat or drink choke me.
You didn't know they were merely a lot of Oakville boys, did you?"

"You can't make so light of it," said she. "They tried to close on you,
and if that stone had struck you on the temple, it might have killed
you. They swore like pirates, and looked like ruffians with their
blackened faces. They certainly were not boys in appearance."

"I'm afraid I swore too," he said sadly.

"You had some excuse, but I'm sorry. They would have hurt you if you
hadn't kept them off."

"Yes, they'd probably have given me a beating. People do things in hot
blood they wish they hadn't afterward. I know this Oakville
rough-scuff. Since we've had it out, and they know what to