"Well, I was told that I had to."
"And you were willing enough, no doubt."
"I didn't hang back very much; they didn't have to tear my clothes."
"But I wish they had torn your flesh, as you have torn mine. Who ever knew of so disgraceful and ridiculous a situation? It beats anything I ever heard of."
"But it can be made all right," said old man Staggs. "Nobody's hurt."
"We can get a divorce," Zeb Sawyer suggested.
"Yes," said Lyman, "but our friends, the populists, have enacted rather peculiar divorce laws. And without some vital cause, the application must be signed by both parties. It's in the nature of a petition."
"Well, that can be arranged," McElwin declared, with a sigh. "Annie, is Eva better?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you. And you must pardon me for talking to you as I did just now, for I was never so upset in my life. Cousin Jasper, I wish you would have my carriage ordered. Annie, tell Mrs. McElwin that we will go home at once. Mr. Lyman, let me see you a moment in private."