Miss Snodgrass turned upon him angrily:
“You needn’t put in your oar, Jedidiah Burbank!” she said. “I guess I know what I’m about. If it was leap-year fifty times over, I wouldn’t offer myself to you!”
And the young lady tossed her head in a very decided manner.
“Now don’t get mad, Maria!” implored Jedidiah, feeling that at the prompting of jealousy; he had put his foot in it. “I didn’t mean nothing.”
“Then you’d better say nothing next time,” retorted the young lady.
Meanwhile, Philip acknowledged the young lady’s politeness by a smile and a bow, assuring her that if it had been possible, it would have given him great pleasure to dance with her.
“If Mr. Burbank will play for me,” he said with a glance at the young man, “I shall be glad to dance.”
Miss Snodgrass burst out laughing.
“Jedidiah couldn’t play well enough for an old cow to dance by,” she said.
“There ain’t any old cows here,” said Jedidiah, vexed at being ridiculed.