When she recovered her composure, Esther said to Kenneth, "Nothing lacking but some white muslin harness and posies on me."
At last, amid shouts and cheers, the much-bedecked horse and his human load started up the mountain road.
By three o'clock, the pulse of the Murphy household beat faster. The temperature rose to fever heat. Three-fifteen, three-thirty; still no visitors; and what is more, no signs of visitors. Every five minutes, one of the children would run down the mountain road, and return disappointed.
"Do yer s'pose they ain't comin'?" queried Kate, who had been kept at home that day to assist in the preparations.
"Oh, yes, they're comin', I think likely," answered the hostess; "but I don't see where they're keepin' theirselves."
She frequently straightened the chairs; once more she dusted the furniture with her clean apron; she straightened the pictures on the walls; she brought out an old and much-prized album, sacred to Mormon prophets and elders. The broken mirror, that adorned the wall, had been cleaned and decorated with tissue paper. Mrs. Murphy stood and looked in it. She saw reflected a sharp, severe face shining like the mirror.
"I wisht I had a collar," she said. "I uster wear a collar back in York State."
Suddenly, she heard a shout from the road.
"They're comin'! They're comin'! Schoolma'am's with 'em! Quick, Maw, quick!"
There was a rush down the path, Joseph Smith leading the line.