the sink, and went to the door.

Her father collected his scattered wits and pulled himself to his feet
by the arms of the high-backed rocker. "You shan't step outside this
306 room till you tell me where you're goin'," he said when he found his
voice.

"I have no wish to keep it secret: I am going to see if Mrs. Mason will
keep me to-night. To-morrow I shall walk down river and get work at the
mills, but on my way I shall stop at the Boyntons' to tell Ivory I am
ready to marry him as soon as he's ready to take me."

This was enough to stir the blood of the Deacon into one last fury.

"I might have guessed it if I hadn't been blind as a bat an' deaf as an
adder!" And he gave the table another ringing blow before he leaned on
it to gather strength. "Of course, it would be one o' that crazy Boynton
crew you'd take up with," he roared. "Nothin' would suit either o' you
girls but choosin' the biggest enemies I've got in the whole village!"

"You've never taken pains to make anything but enemies, so what could we
do?"

"You might as well go to live on the poor-farm! Aaron Boynton was a
disrep'table hound; Lois Boynton is as crazy as a loon; the boy is a
no-body's child, an' Ivory's no better than a common pauper."

"Ivory's a brave, strong, honorable man, and a scholar, too. I can work
for him and help him earn and save, as I have you."

"How long's this been goin' on?" The Deacon was choking, but he meant to
get to the bottom of things while he had the chance.

"It has not gone on at all. He has never said a word to me, and I have
always obeyed your will in these matters; but you can't hide love, any
more than you can hide hate. I know Ivory loves me, so I'm going to tell
him that my duty is done here and I am ready to help him."

"Goin' to throw yourself at his head, be you?" sneered the Deacon.
"By the Lord, I don' know where you two girls got these loose ways o'
think-in' an' acting mebbe he won't take you, an' then where'll you be?
You won't git under my roof again when you've once left it, you can make
up your mind to that!"

"If you have any doubts about Ivory's being willing to take me, you'd
better drive along behind me and listen while I ask him."

Waitstill's tone had an exultant thrill of certainty in it. She threw
up her head, glorying in what she was about to do. If she laid aside her
usual reserve and voiced her thoughts openly, it was not in the hope of
convincing her father, but for the bliss o