"But hast thou any other choice, John? Wouldst thou have chosen Priscilla, like thy friend Alden?" "Nay, Dame." "But thou hast something in thy mind, good John. Tell it out, I pray thee." "Well, then, to speak all my mind, Mistress, there is no maid among us so fair in my eyes, and so sweet, and pure, and true, as Elizabeth Tilley, and I had"-- "Why, she is scarce turned sixteen, dear boy," exclaimed the widow. "I had thought to wait a year or two for her," faltered Howland, but Bradford interposed,-- "Nay, nay, John, we cannot have our sturdy men waiting for little maids to grow up. There are boys enow coming on for them, and as for thee, why man, thou 'rt five-and-twenty, art not?" "Seven-and-twenty, sir. But all this is beside the matter. If my dear mistress asks me to marry Desire Minter as a comfort to her, I will do it to-day." "I thank thee heartily, John." And in the affectionate glance and smile his lily-like dame turned upon him Howland felt more than repaid for his sacrifice. "And yet," continued she, "I will not let thee marry to-day, nor for a year. But if thou wilt call thyself betrothed to her, and promise me on thy faith to deal truly by her, and at the year's end marry her if you both are still so minded, I will be content. I shall leave her in thy care, even as he who is gone left me in thy care, and a good and faithful guardian hast thou been, dear friend." "I pledged my life to him that I would do my best, and now I pledge it in your hands, my honored mistress and dear lady, that I will so deal with this maid as shall most pleasure you." And so John Howland and Desire Minter were formally betrothed; and before the month of May was gone the wheat upon the hill-side was again disturbed as John Carver's wife came to lay herself down to rest close beside him in sweet content. "They tell of broken hearts," said Surgeon Fuller musing above that double grave; "and were I asked to name Dame Katharine's complaint I know no name for it but that." CHAPTER XXI. AN AFFAIR OF HONOR. "Thou liest foully, Edward Dotey! Thou liest even as Ananias and Sapphira lied." "Liest, thou son of Belial! 'T is thou that liest, and art a cock-a-hoop braggart into the bargain, Master Edward Lister! Tell me that our master's daughter gave thee that kerchief"-- "If thou couldst read, I'd show thee 'Constance Hopkins' fairly wrought upon it by the young mistress's own hand." "Then thou stolest it, and I will straight to our master and tell him on 't!" "Hi, hi, my springalds! what meaneth all this vaporing and noise? What's amiss, Lister?" "It matters not what's amiss John Billington. Pass on and attend to thine own affairs." "Lister's afraid to tell that he carrieth stolen goods in his doublet and lies about them into the bargain," sneered Edward Dotey. "I lie do I, thou base-born coward! Lie thou there, then!"