"Not without reason, Deacon. What became of Miss Grace?"
"Miss Grace—why, she's in camp there, with my aunt and cousin." The Deacon's face was wreathed in a smile unmistakable in its import.
"I'm not disposed to be impertinent, Deacon—but are you engaged to Miss Grace?"
"Engaged! why, my dear sir, we were married ten days ago, at Glenwood."
"The d—deuce you were——"
"Fact, my dear old boy—and she's the sweetest——"
"Spare us, Deacon! you seem to have been expeditious."
"Not so,—I have known her for a year, nearly; we were engaged last winter. Cousin Jennie and she were schoolmates east."
"Oh, that's the way of it. Do you know that Mr. Dide will be glad to congratulate you?"
"No, I don't know it—to tell you frankly, he was the cause of her leaving home; perhaps I ought to feel friendly toward him because of that—indirectly he became my benefactor——"