Chickens -- Fiction; Farms -- Fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Fiction
"Now, hold her that way until I am sure I have established complete
respiration," commanded Pan. "You women begin to take these wet rags off of
her. Get two blankets." At which command the rest of the bridal party flew
to work in different directions and I with them. Bess and I arrived in my
room at the same moment, and she seized the two blankets I drew from the
chest and departed without waiting for words. As I drew out the blankets,
something else rolled to the floor, and I saw it was my Romney bundle,
packed weeks before my death.
Its suggestion was not to be denied. I stopped just where I was, and in two
minutes my strong hands ripped that tulle and lace and chiffon from my back
without waiting to undo hooks and eyes. In another three minutes I was into
a pair of the tan cotton stockings and the flat shoes, which Pan had made
me that rainy day in the barn, had on my corduroys and a linen smock, and
was running down to my wedding with wings of the wind.
When I reached the back porch I found Polly sitting up on the floor, with
Matthew's arms around her, and the entire wedding-party standing beside the
back steps, looking on and ejaculating with thankfulness. Old Parson
Henderson stood near, beaming down benedictions for the rescue, and I
decided that they were all in a daze in which anything could be put over on
them.
"Here's my bundle and me," I whispered to Pan, as he stood regarding the
young recovered squaw proudly. "Hand the license to Parson Hendricks. I'll
make him go on and marry us and get away before anybody puts me back into
tulle."
"As Polly is all right now we'll have the wedding, for it's getting late,
and we want to get across to the Paradise Ridge to camp," said Adam, with
the fluty command in his voice which always gets attention and obedience.
As he spoke he put down his bundle, gave Parson Hendricks the document, and
drew me beside him. I kept my bundle in my hand and stood with my other in
his.
"Why, I didn't know that--" the old parson began to splutter while a murmur
of surprise and question began to arise among the hitherto hypnotized
wedding-guests. Judge Rutherford stood apart with the twin parents showing
them some book treasure he had unearthed for father, and I don't think that
either one of my natural guardians was at my wedding except in body.
At the critical moment dear old Matt did rise to the occasion, as did Polly
also, with a crimson glow coming into her drenched cheeks, pallid only a
second before, and a light like sunrise on a violet bank coming into her
eyes.
"She's always intended to marry Baldwin. I knew all about it. Go on!"
Matthew commanded, as he supported Polly in her blankets on wobbly bare
feet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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