| “‘The fair Ellen of Young Lochinvar’ |
was willing to be carried off, and Odalite is not, which makes all the difference, you know!”
“Oh, but she would be glad afterward!” persisted Elva.
“Oh, hush, Elf! He won’t try it! The age of chivalry is past!” indignantly replied Wynnette.
And they resumed their tramp toward Greenbushes, where they arrived in about another hour, and where they spent the day, returning home in the evening.
“Oh, Le! Sweet, dear, darling Le! won’t you please carry off Odalite, just like Young Lochinvar did fair Ellen? Oh, please, Le! It would be so easy! You could have George saddled and brought round to the front door. George is the fastest and the strongest horse in the stables, and you could snatch her up and run out with her and be in the saddle and away before folks could get over their surprise. And she would be glad afterward! I know she would! Weren’t the Sabine women glad afterward that the Roman youth had carried them away?” argued Elva, fresh from her school history. “And, Le, you could do it very easily!”
“Yes, I could, very easily,” grimly assented the youth.
“And you will, won’t you?”
“No, my precious! It would not do! Not in these days, darling! With all the examples of romance, poetry and history to inspire me, I must not do it! If I were to attempt such a feat, I would be a felon, not a hero, my pet.”