They ate their beans and brown
bread and the mince pie that had been the "splendid" feature of
the meal, as reported by the boy; and when they had finished, and
Rodman was clearing the table, Ivory walked to the window,
lighting his pipe the while, and stood soberly looking out on the
snowy landscape. One could scarcely tell it was twilight, with
such sweeps of whiteness to catch every gleam of the dying day.
"Drop work a minute and come here, Rod," he said at length. "Can
you keep a secret?"
"'Course I can! I'm chock full of 'em now, and nobody could dig
one of 'em out o' me with a pickaxe!"
"Oh, well! If you're full you naturally couldn't hold another!"
"I could try to squeeze it in, if it's a nice one," coaxed the
boy.
"I don't know whether you'11 think it's a nice one, Rod, for it
breaks up one of your plans. I'm not sure myself how nice it is,
but it's a very big, unexpected, startling one. What do you
think? Your favorite Patty has gone and got married."
"Patty! Married!" cried Rod, then hastily putting his hand over
his mouth to hush his too-loud speaking.
"Yes, she and Mark Wilson ran away last Monday, drove over to
Allentown, New Hampshire, and were married without telling a
soul.
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