"I don't know as I care much whether I starve or not," said Eva. "It's goin' to make me put off my weddin'; and if I do put it off, Jim and me will never get married at all; I feel it in my bones." "Why, what should you have to put it off for?" asked Fanny. "Why? I should think you'd know why without askin'. Ain't I spent every dollar I have saved up on my weddin' fixin's, and Jim, he's got his mother on his hands, and she's been sick, and he ain't saved up anything. If you s'pose I'm goin' to marry him and make him any worse off than he is now you're mistaken." "Well, mebbe Jim can work somewhere else, and mebbe Lloyd's won't be shut up long," Fanny said, consolingly. "I wouldn't give up so, if I was you." "I might jest as well," Eva returned. "It's no use, Jim and me will never get married." Eva's face was curiously set; she was not in the least loud nor violent as was usually the case when she was in trouble, her voice was quite low, and she spoke slowly. Fanny looked anxiously at her. "It ain't as though you hadn't a roof to cover you," she said, "for you've got mine and Andrew's as long as we have one ourselves." "Do you think I'd live on Andrew long?" demanded Eva. "You won't have to. Jim will get work in a week or two, and you'll get married. Don't act so. I declare, I'm ashamed of you, Eva Loud. I thought you had more sense, to give up discouraged at no more than this. I don't see why you jump way ahead into trouble before you get to it." "I've got to it, and I can feel the steam of it in my face," Eva said, with unconscious imagery. Then she lit a lamp, and went up-stairs to change her dress before Jim Tenny arrived.