"
Mark held her close and smoothed the curls under the loose brown
hood. "Don't you fret, Patty darling! I'm not the boy I was last
week. Every word you say makes me more of a man. At first I would
have run away just for the joke; anything to get you away from
the other fellows and prove I was the best man, but now' I'm
sobered down, too. I'll do nothing rash; I'll be as staid as the
judge you want me to be twenty years later. You've made me over,
Patty, and if my love for you wasn't the right sort at first, it
is now. I wish the road to New Hampshire was full of lions and I
could fight my way through them just to show you how strong I
feel!"
"There'll be lions enough," smiled Patty through her tears,
"though they won't have manes and tails; but I can imagine how
father will roar, and how my courage will ooze out of the heels
of my boots!"
"Just let me catch the Deacon roaring at my wife!" exclaimed Mark
with a swelling chest. "Now, run along, Patty dear, for I don't
want you scolded on my account. There's sure to be only a day or
two of waiting now, and I shall soon see the signal waving from
your window. I'll sound Ellen and see if she's brave enough to
be one of the eloping party. Good-night! Good-night! Oh! How I
hope our going away will be to-morrow, my dearest, dearest
Patty!"
WINTER
XXVI
A WEDDING-RING
THE snow had come.
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