CHAPTER XXXIX
HONEY WITHOUT WAX
"WELL, I reckon the cowboy's gone back to 'tend to his cows," remarked the grandmother to Adelaide, as she returned from taking Percy to Blue Mound and found the old lady sitting on the lawn bench apparently enjoying the mild late November weather. "Did you leave him at the station or see him off?"
"Neither," Adelaide replied, sitting down beside her. "The train was late, and he insisted on coming back with me to the first turn, and then stood and watched till I came within sight of home at the next turn. I doubt if he is back to the station yet."
"He reminds me, Pet, of the Latin definition you gave for _sincere," _remarked the grandmother. "Pure honey without wax, wasn't it?"
"Oh, no, Grandma. Not pure honey. It says nothing about honey. Sine is the Latin for _without, _and _cera _means _wax; _so that our word _sincere, _taken literally from the Latin, means without wax."
"Oh, yes, I see now; but let me tell you, Adelaide, I think that professor of yours is right smart wax."
"Why, Grandma! I never heard you say such a thing. You know papa and mamma like Professor Barstow and I think I like him too, and,—and he has papa's consent, and mamma's consent."
"Well, you never heard me say such a thing before and you won't ever hear it again, but he hasn't got my consent. I think he's some wax, but I reckon you think he's some honey, and I know he thinks he's some punk'ns. Of course, your father would like an English or Scottish nobleman for a son-in-law, or at least a college professor with a string of ancestry reaching across the water; but the Henry's prefer to make their own reputations as they go along, and I doubt if Patrick ever saw England or Scotland. I tell you, Adelaide, a pound of gumption will make a better husband than a shipload of ancestry, and I just hope you will more than like your husband, that's all."
With that the old lady arose and walked to the house.