“Don’t you think—” Harvey stopped and looked about hesitatingly,—“Ah, don’t you think it would be just as well if Elsie didn’t see quite as much of this Chicago fellow?”
“Do you mean Mr. Druce?” inquired Mrs. Welcome.
“I do. Of course, he’s all right—” Harvey again hesitated and puckered his lips thoughtfully. “He wears fine clothing, patent leather shoes, sports a diamond ring, but it seems to me Elsie’s different somehow since that Martin Druce began to hang around.”
Mrs. Welcome laughed softly. There was a glint of humor in her eyes. “I guess you’re jealous, aren’t you, Harvey?”
“Well, say I am,” agreed Harvey. “Never mind that. Is it a good thing for Elsie?”
“Elsie’s a good girl,” replied Mrs. Welcome.
“She sure is, Mrs. Welcome. That’s why I want her to be Mrs. Harvey Spencer.”
Mrs. Welcome opened her eyes wide at this statement and looked kindly at the stout young man before her.
“You mean it, Harvey?” she demanded.
“I’m so much in earnest,” he replied, fumbling in his pocket, “that I’ve got the ring right here.”