"No," she said, with a quick flush; "I hadn't forgotten it; but I couldn't ask thee for it!"
"I spoke to your father about monthly payments; but he said better leave it to accumulate for emergencies. Shouldn't you call this an 'emergency,' Dorothy?"
"But does thee think we ought to ask rent for a pond that has all leaked away?"
"Oh, there's pond enough left, and I've used it a dozen times over this summer! I would be ashamed to tell you, Dorothy, how my horn has been exalted in your father's absence. However, retribution has overtaken me at last; I'm responsible, you know, for all the damage last night. It was in the agreement that I should keep up the dams."
"Oh!" said Dorothy; "is thee sure?"
Evesham laughed.
"If your father were like any other man, Dorothy, he'd make me 'sure,' when he gets home! I will defend myself to this extent: I've patched and propped them all summer, after every rain, and tried to provide for the fall storms; but there's a flaw in the original plan—"
"Thee said that once before," said Dorothy. "I wish thee wouldn't say it again."
"Why not?"
"Because I love those old mill-dams! I've trotted over them ever since I could walk alone!"