a primly, "but Miss
Amelia Lang tells me he is a very distinguished person, of quite
superior education in a medical way. I shall call him if I ever have
the misfortune to fall ill again. I hope you will tell Nancy Ellen
that we shall be very pleased to have her bring him to see us some
evening, and if she will let me know a short time ahead I shall take
great pleasure in compounding a cake and freezing custard."

"Of course I shall tell her, and she will feel a trifle more stuck up
than she does now, if that is possible," laughed Kate in deep amusement.

She surely was feeling fine. Everything had come out so splendidly.
That was what came of having a little spirit and standing up for your
rights. Also she was bubbling inside while Agatha talked. Kate
wondered how Adam survived it every day. She glanced at him to see if
she could detect any marks of shattered nerves, then laughed outright.

Adam was the finest physical specimen of a man she knew. He was good
looking also, and spoke as well as the average, better in fact, for
from the day of their marriage, Agatha sat on his lap each night and
said these words: "My beloved, to-day I noted an error in your speech.
It would put a former teacher to much embarrassment to have this occur
in public. In the future will you not try to remember that you should
say, 'have gone,' instead of 'have went?'" As she talked Agatha
rumpled Adam's hair, pulled off his string tie, upon which she
insisted, even when he was plowing; laid her hard little face against
his, and held him tight with her frail arms, so that Adam being part
human as well as part Bates, held her closely also and said these
words: "You bet your sweet life I will!" And what is more he did. He
followed a furrow the next day, softly muttering over to himself:
"Langs have gone to town. I have gone to work. The birds have gone to
building nests." So Adam seldom said: "have went," or made any other
error in speech that Agatha had once corrected.

As Kate watched him leaning back in his chair, vital, a study in
well-being, the supremest kind of satisfaction on his face, she noted
the flash that lighted his eye when Agatha offered to "freeze a
custard." How like Agatha! Any other woman Kate knew would have said,
"make ice cream." Agatha explained to them that when they beat up
eggs, added milk, sugar, and corn-starch it was custard. When they
used pure cream, sweetened and frozen, it was iced cream. P