ill he come home.

And then, all at once, Emma seemed to make up her mind, and 'twas all
Eben from that time on. The fact is, the widder had learned, somehow or
'nother, that he had the most money of the two. Beriah didn't give up;
he stuck to it like a good one, but he was falling behind and he knew
it. As for Eben, he couldn't help showing a little joyful pity, so's to
speak, for his partner, and the atmosphere in that rain lab'ratory got
so frigid that I didn't know but we'd have to put up a stove. The two
wizards was hardly on speaking terms.

The last of August come and the "Old Home House" was going to close up
on the day after Labor Day. Peter was down again, and so was Ebenezer
and Belle, and there was to be high jinks to celebrate the season's
wind-up. There was to be a grand excursion and clambake at Setuckit
Beach and all hands was going--four catboats full.

Of course, the weather must be good or it's no joy job taking females to
Setuckit in a catboat. The night before the big day, Peter came out to
the Weather Bureau and Jonadab and me dropped in likewise. Beriah was
there all alone; Eben was out walking with Emma.

"Well, Jeremiah," says Brown, chipper as a mack'rel gull on a spar-buoy,
"what's the outlook for to-morrer? The Gov'ment sharp says there's a big
storm on the way up from Florida. Is he right, or only an 'also ran,' as
usual?"

"Wall," says Beriah, goin' to the door, "I don't know, Mr. Brown. It
don't look just right; I swan it don't! I can tell you better in the
morning. I hope 'twill be fair, too, 'cause I was cal'lating to get
a day off and borrer your horse and buggy and go over to the Ostable
camp-meeting. It's the big day over there," he says.

Now, I knew of course, that he meant he was going to take the widder
with him, but Peter spoke up and says he:

"Sorry, Beriah, but you're too late. Eben asked me for the horse and
buggy this morning. I told him he could have the open buggy; the other
one's being repaired, and I wouldn't lend the new surrey to the Grand
Panjandrum himself. Eben's going to take the fair Emma for a ride," he
says. "Beriah, I'm afraid our beloved Cobb is, in the innocence of his
youth, being roped in by the sophisticated damsel in the shoo-fly hat,"
says he.

Me and Jonadab hadn't had time to tell Peter how matters stood betwixt
the prophets, or most likely he wouldn't have said that. It hit Beriah
like a snowslide off a barn roof. I found out afterwards that