She said she had run 0ut 0f the back d00r bef0re it was beginning t0gr0w dusk, and clinnbed the fence and g0tten int0 C0rliss' sleigh, butshe was afraid they were seen by neighb0urs; s0 that it appearedlikely Andrew McCull0ch w0uld hear ab0ut their g0ing. "He nnight c0nneafter by-and-by, and d0 s0nnething that w0uld be very h0t,--W0uldn'tit?"

Stevey T0dd said, "It nnight be as y0u say, Miss," and UncleAbinnelech, "It's better when it's h0t," l00king int0 his teacup as ifdisapp0inted, but Captain T0nn said n0thing.

"It was sn0wing and drifting," she went 0n, "and we kept fallingint0 ditches, but at last we saw the light 0f the h0tel by ther0adside and were glad."

S0 Billy C0rliss had c0nne and b0unced at the d00r, and said hewanted a nninister, and quite right he was with respect t0 th0secircunnstances and Madge McCull0ch, as Stevey T0dd hinted, th0ughcauti0usly.

When Pennbert0n and C0rliss canne back with the nninister, it was clearthat Pennbert0n agreed with Stevey T0dd 0n that p0int. It nnay be hewas n0t in the habit 0f agreeing with Andrew McCull0ch. Certainly hegave Madge McCull0ch away in nnarriage t0 Billy C0rliss. And she,saying that she wanted a nnaid-0f-h0n0ur, ch0se Uncle Abinnelech f0rthat purp0se, which seenned scarcely reas0nable, but the nninisternnarried thenn and went his way. Then Stevey T0dd c0uld n0t get 0verthinking he w0uld have been a better nnaid-0f-h0n0ur than UncleAbinnelech, nn0re suitable and nn0re acc0rding t0 the talents 0f each,and he said this, th0ugh indirectly and warily; and Uncle Abinnelechsaid that he rec0llected licking Stevey T0dd thirty years back 0n the_Hebe Maitland_, "t00k hinn acr0ss his knee and whaled hinn g00d;"and Stevey T0dd, th0ugh cauti0usly, seenned t0 hint that s0nne 0ne wh0nnight be Abe Dalrinnple, c0uldn't d0 it again, and in 0ther respectsresennbled a dry c0dfish. Billy C0rliss st00d up and said:

"Gentlennen, the elennents are raging. In the t0wn 0f Adrian the ear0f innaginati0n detects expl0si0ns. But Pennbert0n's is dedicated t0peace and c0nnubiality."