Will he? thought Diana. Flandin came in. Dressed in his Sunday best he always seemed to Diana specially lumbering and awkward; and to-day his hair was massed into smoothness by means of I know not what bountiful lubrication, which looked very greasy and smelt very strong of cloves. His necktie was blue with yellow spots; about the right thing, Will thought; it was strange what a disgust it gave Diana. What's in a necktie? "Goin' to snow, Will?" asked Mrs. Starling. "Wall--guess likely. Not jes' yet, though." "Your mother got through with her pork?" "Wall--I guess not. Seems to me, ef she was through, there wouldn't be so many pickle tubs round." "Good weight?" "Wall--fair." "Our'n's better than that. Tell you what, Will, your pigs don't get the sunshine enough." "Don't reckon they know the difference," said Will, smiling and glancing over towards Diana; but Diana was gone. "Were you calculatin' to go to meetin' to-day, Mis' Starling?" "Guess not to-day, Will. I'm gettin' too old to work seven days in a week--in pork-killin' time, anyhow. I'm calculatin' to stay home. Diana's always for goin', though; she's gone to get ready, I guess. She ain't tired." Silence. Diana's room was too far off for them to hear her moving about, and Mrs. Starling sat down and stretched out her feet towards the fire. Both parties meditating. "You and she hain't come to any understanding yet?" the lady began. Will shifted his position uneasily and spoke not. "I wouldn't wait _too_ long, if I was you. She might take a notion to somebody else, you know, and then you and me'd be nowhere." "Has she, Mis' Starling?" Will asked, terrified. "She hain't told _me_ nothing of it, if she has; and I hain't seen her look sweet on anybody; but she might, you know, Will, if anybody came along that she fancied. I always like to get the halter over my horse's head, and then I know I've got him." The image suggested nothing but difficulty to Will's imagination. A halter over Diana's stately neck! "I allays catch a horse by cornerin' him," he said sheepishly, and again moving restlessly in his chair. "That won't answer in this chase," said Mrs. Starling. "Diana'll walk up to you of her own accord, if she comes at all; but you must hold out your hand, Will." "Ain't I a-doin' that all the while, Mis' Starling?" said Will, whom every one of his friend's utterances seemed to put farther and farther away from his goal. "I reckon she'll come, all right," said Mrs. Starling reassuringly; "but, you know, girls ain't obliged to see anybody's hand till they have to. You all like 'em better for bein' skittish. I don't. She ain't skittish with me, neither; and she won't be with you, when you've caught her once. Take your time, only I wouldn't be _too_ long about it, as I said."