ssy! if thet thar ain't jest like one o' his doggoned tales! He is
the derndest critter," with reflective delight, "the derndest! Thar ain't
nothin' in Hamlin to come up to him."

But the next day even Mr. Doty was convinced. After his customary visit
to the Cross-roads, he returned to his family wearing a bewildered
expression. It became a sheepish expression when his wife confronted him
on the doorstep.

"Wal, Job Doty," she remarked, "I guess you've found out by this time
whether I was right or wrong."

"Wal," answered Mr. Doty, throwing his saddle down on the porch, "I
reckon I hev. She's thar shore enough, 'n' it seems like he's gwine to
keep her; but I wouldn't hev believed it ef I hadn't seen it, doggoned ef
I would! But, Lord, it's like him, arter all." And he brightened up and
chuckled again.

"I reckon he don't scarcely know what he's tuk in hand," said Mrs. Doty.

"Him!" answered Mr. Doty. "Tom! Lord! 'tain't a-gwine to trouble Tom.
He'll get along, Tom will. Tom'd jus' as lief as she wus twins as not,
mebbe liefer. It'd be a bigger thing for him to engineer 'n' gas about ef
she wus. Ef you'd seen him bring her into the store to the boys 'n' brag
on her 'n' spread hisself, I reckon ye wouldn't hev minded 'bout Tom.
Why, he's set on her, Minty, a'reddy, as set as he kin be."

The Cross-roads post-office had indeed been the scene of a sort of
informal _levee_ held by the newcomer, who had been thus presented to
her fellow-citizens. One man after another had dropped in to hear the
truth of the story related, and each one had been dumfounded at the
outset by Tom's simple statement of fact.

"Yes, I'm going to keep her, boys," he said. "She's in the back part of
the house now. According to my calculations, she's drunk about three
quarts of milk since morning, and seems to stand it pretty well, so I
suppose she's all right."

There were a great many jokes made at first, and a general spirit of
hilariousness reigned, but it was observed by one of the keener witted
ones that, despite his jocular tone, there was an underlying seriousness
in Tom's air which might argue that he felt the weight of his
responsibility. When the women began to come in, as they did later in the
day, he received them with much cordiality, rising from his chair to
shake hands with each matron as she appeared.

"Come in to see her, have you?" he said. "That's right. She's in the back
room. Walk right in. Mis' Simpson and Mis' Lyle, I'