"No, no; I'm cold. It's getting damp."
"S-ay, you can't hurt my feelings. On a cool night like this, a brand-new sleeping-porch ain't the worst spot in the world."
They were on the veranda, the hall light falling dimly out and over them.
"She's so young—"
"Now, now, Hattie; worry killed a Maltese cat. Come to bed."
"You go. I want to wait up."
"Hattie, you want to make of yourself the laughingstock of the neighborhood. A grown-up girl goes out riding with a man like Leon Kessler, and you wants to wait up and catch your death of cold. If we had more daughters, I wouldn't have no more wife; I'd have a shadow from worry. Come!"
"I'll be up in a minute, I.W."
He regarded her in some concern.
"Why, Hattie, if there's anything in the world to worry about, wouldn't
I be the first? Ain't you well?"