y? Will you be my wife, and go to
Ridgeville with me and live in that little house?"

"How could you doubt it?" she asked, raising her head and looking at him
trustfully and admiringly.

"I don't know, but I was afraid," he returned. "Somehow I can't feel
that such a big thing could come my way. I want you--God knows I want
you, but somehow you seem miles and miles above me. You know so much
that I don't know. Every day it seems to me you teach me something I
never knew before but--but if you will come with me I'll do everything
in my power to make you happy. Will you?"

"Of course I will!" And Tilly kissed him again, and held him at
arm's-length for an instant and looked at him proudly. "I am the one
that ought to have been afraid," she smiled. "Men pass along and make
love to country girls and never see them again. In fact, Sally Teasdale
said the other day to me--she is mad on account of me and Joel--she said
that you were just a flirt, amusing yourself while you are here. Those
are the things a girl has to put up with, John. Sally had her eyes on
you at first. She is dying to get married. She thought you were handsome
and wonderful in every way till you got to going with me, and now she
sniffs and turns up her nose and tries to make me doubt you."

"I never liked her, and she knew it," John said. "But let's not talk
about her or any one else. There is no one I care a pin about except you
and Sam and his wife."

"Nobody else--nobody?" Tilly asked, slowly. "Why, you told me once that
your mother is living, that she is a widow and that you help take care
of her!"

Here John's stiff fingers relaxed in their clasp on Tilly's small hand,
and with averted face he sat still, silent, and gloomily reminiscent.

Tilly edged herself around till her eyes met his again. "Yes, I knew
your mother was living, John," she went on, "and I'm going to confess
something. I'm going to confess that I've been worrying more since you
got back from your home than I did before. John, I thought if you really
intended to ask me to marry you, that you would tell your mother about
it, and that you would naturally tell me what she said--that is, if she
was willing for you to marry me. But as you have never mentioned her
since you got back, I thought--well, I thought she might have other
plans for you and that you didn't want to hurt my feelings by telling me
what she said."

John stared helplessly for an instant; then he shrugged his great