"What is the joke?" inquired Jim, coming back with his hands full.
"Oh, just something this wedding reminds us of," Bess replied.
"I'm reminded that there is not much more fun for me," said Ikey, in a momentary fit of despondency.
"What a long face!" laughed Dora. "Remember this is a cheerful occasion. The next thing you will be married yourself to some California girl."
"He is coming back to see us before then, aren't you, Ikey?" said Louise.
"In six years he is coming back to stay," added Carl.
"I wonder where we shall all be six years from now," said Constance, placidly eating her ice.
"Dear me, I shall be twenty; think of it!" From Bess's tone one might have inferred that this meant extreme old age.
"I expect to be married before that," remarked Elsie confidently.
"Is it possible? I wonder to whom," Aleck exclaimed with an air of great surprise.