“Looks as though you’re takin’ cold. It’s the heat, maybe. Let’s go.” “Not yet, papa.” “Look a-here!” he said, “I’m not goin’ to promenade out in that dining-room and ruin my stomach on lemonade and doodaddle refreshments. It’s suppertime right now, and I want to go home!” “Hush!” she bade him. “It wouldn’t be polite to rush right out. Just stay a minute or two longer; then you can go.” “But what’s the _use_? I don’t want to hang around here with all the fat women in town perspiring against my clo’es. I hate the whole possytucky of ’em!” “_Sh_, papa!” “I don’t care,” he went on with husky vehemence. “Nothin’ to do here except stare at the bride, and she’s so little it don’t take much time to see _her_; she’s just about half your size—you made her seem like a wax doll beside you, and the way she looked at you, I guess she thought so, too. Anyway, she does look like a wax doll. Looks worse’n _that_, too!” “No, no!” “Yes, she does,” he insisted. “She’s got paint on her. Her face is all over paint.” “It isn’t paint. It’s only rouge.” “What’s the difference? It ain’t decent. She paints. She’s got red paint on her cheeks and black paint on her eye-winkers. Looks to me like Dan Oliphant’s gone and married a New York fast woman.” “Hush!” Martha commanded him sharply. “People will hear you!” “I can’t hardly hear myself!” he retorted. “Never got in such a gibblety-gabble in my born days. I tell you she paints! Her mother-in-law ought to take her out to a washstand and clean her up like a respectable woman. The Oliphant family ought to know what people’ll take her for, if they let her go around all painted up like that. If she was _my_ daughter-in-law——” But here Martha’s protest was so vehement as to check him. “Everybody _will_ hear you! Be quiet! Look there!” She caught her breath, staring wide-eyed; and, turning to see what had so decisively fixed her attention, he realized that the clamorous place had become almost silent. Old Mrs. Savage, leaning upon her grandson Harlan’s arm, had entered the room and was on her way to the bride.