"You shall marry us, parson—and this very day, by thunder!"
These words came to Mrs. Willoughby's ears in the midst of her first joy at meeting her sister, and shocked her inexpressibly.
"What's that, Minnie darling?" she asked, anxiously. "What is it? Did you hear what that dreadful—what the—the Baron said?"
Minnie looked sweetly conscious, but said nothing.
"What does he mean?" asked her sister again.
"I suppose he means what he says," replied Minnie, with a timid air, stealing a shy look at the Baron.
"Oh dear!" said Mrs. Willoughby; "there's another dreadful trouble, I know. It's very, very hard—"
"Well, I'm sure," said Minnie, "I can't help it. They all do so. That clergyman came and saved me, and he wasn't a Roman Catholic clergyman at all, and he proposed—"
"Proposed!" cried Mrs. Willoughby, aghast.
"Oh yes," said Minnie, solemnly; "and I had hard work preventing him. But, really, it was too absurd, and I would not let him be too explicit. But I didn't hurt his feelings. Well, you know, then all of a sudden, as we were sitting there, the bugle sounded, and we came back. Well, then, Rufus K. Gunn came—and you know how very violent he is in his way—and he said he saved my life again, and so he proposed."