"Then go repeat it to Clarence, and bring him here at once," she commanded.
He hesitated, and was about to speak.
"Don't stop to talk. Hurry!"
He did as he was told.
Swinging sharply around the corner of the clump of bushes, he collided with the very fowl he was seeking.
"Why, hullo, old Single Standard!" exclaimed the rooster jocularly. "Whither hurried hence?"
"Ah! I'm glad I've found you," said Eustace earnestly. "Martha, your wife, is in great distress of mind. She wants you to come home, and promises she'll never ask any more questions."
"Really? Then you're my friend for life!" As they started off together, he continued, "You'll have to forgive me, old sport—I didn't see it at first, but you certainly were far-sighted to put her up to that 'modern female' nonsense. The truth is, until you did this I was afraid she might some day get on to me, and that I'd never hear the end of it; but now, since she's learned her lesson, I'll have her right where I want her. She knows she can't afford to ruffle the only rooster in the barnyard."
They walked on for a while in silence. Eustace, toddling dazedly, could find no utterance for the thoughts in his mind.
"You know," said Clarence reflectively, "I'll be glad to see Martha again. I'm getting a bit tired of that speckled minx. She's beginning to nag me with 'Why do you love me?' and 'How much do you love me?' questions."