remnant of
patience vanished. He leaned over the heads of half a dozen guests,
and said in a loud whisper, "For the Lord's sake, Marthy, hold up a
minit an' let 'em get hitched!" The wedding march ceased abruptly; the
guests drew a sigh of relief, and the ceremony began.

A deep hush fell over the crowded little room. To several there,
besides the bride and groom, this ceremony was especially impressive.
The groomsman felt a lump in his throat as he looked at Martin, and
thought of all the years his little bride and the blue silk gown had
waited, and how he had helped to lengthen the time. And over in a
corner, sitting beside Tim, John McIntyre gazed at his old comrade's
radiant face, and raised his heart in reverent thankfulness that they
had been spared to see this day together.

The ceremony ended in a hushed solemnity, and when the minister
pronounced them man and wife, and all bowed in prayer, even Tim,
touched by the signs of emotion in John McIntyre's face, was quiet and
well behaved. But, unfortunately, the house was too near the Sawyers'
household to long enjoy peace and prosperity. Jake and Hannah, of
course, were among the guests, and, the evening before, Mrs. Winters
had secured a promise from Uncle Hughie Cameron to take the youngest
orphan under his care during the wedding, and had wrung from the twins
a solemn promise that they would neither be seen nor heard until after
the dinner had been served. Faithful to their contract, the two had
lain concealed beneath the lilacs, watching Arabella's home, and
talking in breathless whispers while the guests were arriving. But
when every one had disappeared indoors, and silence settled upon the
village, time hung heavily upon the orphans' hands. They crawled out
from their ambush, and simultaneously their fertile brains were
possessed of a scheme for enlivening the dull hours. They would have a
wedding themselves! They had witnessed a ceremony at the Orphans'
Home, when one of the maids was married, and knew exactly how it should
be conducted. There were Isaac and Rebekah strutting about the back
yard; they would serve as the bridal couple, and the twelve tribes
would be guests. No sooner said than done; the twins set vigorously to
work. The first and most important consideration, of course, was the
bride's toilette, and there was that remnant of blue silk Miss Arabella
had given them from her gown. The twins ran upstairs for it with
screams of del