XVII
WHICH PRESENTS A DECISIVE INCIDENT IN OUR CAMPAIGN AGAINST OLD NEW ENGLAND
“Harry was pretty well disabled with affection for a time. He was like a Yankee with the ‘rheumatiz,’ and you know when a Yankee gets hold of the ‘rheumatiz’ he hangs on. It don’t often get away from him. It becomes an asset––a conservational asset––an ever-present help in time of haying.
“Since Harry’s return the tactics of Marie had been faultless. Her eyes had said, ‘Come on,’ while her words had firmly held him off. He shook the tree every time they met, but the squirrel wouldn’t come down.
“It was a hard part for Marie to play, between the pressure of two handsome boys and her duty to grandpapa. The Reverend Robert had won the favor of the old gentleman by turning from tennis to agriculture for exercise. He had gone over to the Benson farm and helped with the spring’s work; he had supper there every Sunday evening, after which he conducted a little service for the Deacon’s benefit. He was pressing, as they say in golf, and it didn’t improve his game. I saw that Marie was not quite so fond of him. I had maintained an attitude of strict neutrality, but could not fail to observe that Marie had begun to lean.
“‘You have captured the rest of Pointview, and you ought to be able to take Benson’s Hill,’ Marie had said to Harry. ‘Grandfather is the last enemy of your crusade.’
“It was a timely touch on the accelerator, and Harry began to speed up a little.