lawn. They had discussed together the
trousseau, and made it. They had talked and talked together over the
whole thing for two months, and she had handed Eve so much advice out
of her store of connubial wisdom, that she was not going to give up
her place now.

So it was arranged that Gay was to give Eve away, and Annie was to be
ready at the girl's elbow. That was how Annie put it. And no one but
herself knew quite what she meant. However, it seemed to be perfectly
satisfactory to Eve, and their preparations continued, a whirl of
delight to them both.

Peter Blunt was Will's best man. And he found himself left with
nothing much to do but smile upon inquirers after the bridegroom on
the eventful day. His other duties were wrested from him by anybody
and everybody in the place, which was a matter of considerable relief,
although he was willing enough. But there was one other duty which
could not be snatched from him, and it was one that weighed seriously
on his kindly mind. It was the care of the wedding-ring. That, and the
fear lest he should not produce it at exactly the right moment, gave
him much cause for anxiety. Mrs. Gay had done her duty by him. She had
marked the place in the service which he must study. And he had
studied earnestly. But as the hour of the wedding approached his
nerves tried him, and between fingering the ring in his waistcoat
pocket and repeating his "cues" over to himself, he reached a painful
condition of mental confusion which bordered closely on a breakdown.

At half-past eleven the village was abustle with people emerging from
their houses. It was Gay who sighed as he surveyed the throng. Not a
soul but had a broad smile on his or her face. And what with that, and
the liberal use of soap, such an atmosphere of health had been arrived
at that he pictured in his mind the final winding up of his affairs as
an undertaker.

Then came the saunter over to the Mission Room. Everybody sauntered;
it was as if they desired to prolong the sensation. Besides, the women
required to look about them--at other women--and the men followed in
their wake, feeling that in all such affairs they acknowledged the
feminine leadership. They felt that somehow they were there only on
sufferance, a necessary evil to be pushed into the background, like
any other domestic skeleton.

The Mission Room was packed, and the rustle of starched skirts, and
the cleanly laundry atmosphere that pervaded the place was wonderf