"Well, you're going to take me if it is late," she said firmly. "Aunt Susan was told that we'd come, and she has dinner waiting this minute. Jake, put the horses in the wagon while Mr. Hunter dresses, and be as quick about it as you can." "The horses--th' horses are in th' pasture, Lizzie," Jake said hesitantly. "I didn't know an'--an'--I--an' we turned 'em out an hour ago." Jake Ransom saw the colour die out of the young face and understood exactly what had happened. He saw her turn without a look at her husband and start to the house, bowed and broken and without hope. Jake understood that a trick had been played on her, for he had been slow about turning the horses out and John had untied and led the team used for driving to the pasture gate himself. "I don't know whether I kin ketch 'em 'r not, but I'll try," he called after her. Elizabeth turned back hopefully, but John said "Now look here, Elizabeth, those horses have been playing like mad for half an hour, and you could no more catch them than you could fly." Turning to Jake, "I'll take Mrs. Hunter next Sunday if she's just got to go. A man wants to rest when Sunday comes," he added under his breath. Jake Ransom watched Elizabeth drag her listless feet up the steps and shot a look of disdain at the back of John Hunter as he followed her. "You dirty cuss!" he exclaimed under his breath. "Lizzie's as good a woman as th' is in this country, an' she don't git nothin' she wants. I bet I see t' gittin' them horses ready next Sunday myself." Going into her bedroom, Elizabeth Hunter laid off the finery of girlhood, and with it her girlhood also. "I'll never ask him again," she told herself, and put her hair back into its woman's knot and went to the kitchen and began dinner. * * * * * Susan Hornby shaded her eyes with her hand, and looked up the road for the fortieth time. "The baby must be worse, Nate," she said to her husband when at last there had to be a discussion of the matter. Nathan Hornby followed her into the kitchen and helped to take up the dinner which had been waiting over an hour. His head burned with indignation, but there was something in Susan's defeat which brooked no discussion on his side. They had come as near quarrelling over this invitation as they had ever done about anything in their married life. As they sat at the table eating their belated dinner, a lonely horseman appeared coming down the road from the west. "It's Jake! I wonder if he's going for the doctor?" Susan exclaimed. "You never can tell what anybody has to contend with." And the meal was left to cool unfinished as the old couple left the house and hailed the rider. "I didn't hear nothin' about th' baby bein' worse," Jake was obliged to answer when put under question.