“And I should say you had a-plenty,” Aunt ’Mira cried frankly. “I b’lieve after what you have been through this afternoon, you’d ought to go to bed purty soon after supper. I’ll iron the best room bed, and Jason’ll put the heater in there.”
But a chorus of objections from the young folk vetoed this plan. Even Janice thought it an unnecessary precaution, Mr. Haley was so well now.
“And what my nurse says, goes!” declared Nelson, laughing. “Janice is a famous sick-room attendant, as I can testify.”
“I believe you, Mr. Haley,” agreed Aunt ’Mira. “She can jest charm away a headache. She’s a capable gal, if I do say it as shouldn’t, bein’ her aunt. Me an’ Jason air jes as proud as Punch of her.”
Janice ran out of the room for a fresh supply of biscuit, and to hide her blushes.
“Janice is the bulliest girl that ever was,” chimed in Marty. “If there was more girls like her I’d mebbe think of marryin’, myself.”
This statement caused a general laugh.
The men folk sat before the base-burner in the sitting-room and talked about other severe storms while Janice and her aunt cleared the table and washed the supper dishes. By and by there was a great stamping and blowing on the porch.
“Marty,” said his father, taking the pipe from his mouth, “that’s either a whale come aboard, or Walky Dexter. Go give him a hand with the broom. Your mother won’t want all that fresh snow on her clean kitchen floor.”
It was Walky. Despite the howling storm, he had come down the hill for his weekly evening call at the old Day house.