“Your what?” asked Emma innocently.
Even Ike Fairweather joined in the laugh, that followed. Nora nodded, and smiled her approval at Emma.
“I should prefer to blow up from an oversupply of brains than to faint because of short measure,” retorted Hippy heatedly.
“Brakes on!” ordered Grace, trying hard not to laugh. “That was real mean of you, Hippy Wingate. I think you should apologize to Emma.”
“All right, let’s go. I do apologize, Miss Dean. My seeming rudeness was not rudeness at all, it was merely an effort on my part to make conversation and to maintain my reputation for making myself agreeable. I’ll go further with my apology and assure you that I know that it wasn’t because you are sometimes brainless that you fainted, but because—”
“Hippy Wingate!” rebuked Nora sharply. “I shall never, never speak to you again unless you tell Emma you are sorry.”
“Please do as I ask you to.”
“Ike, have you another hat in the wagon that I can wear to town to-morrow?”
Mr. Fairweather said he had not.