"Is that all I'm good for—to help pass the time?"
"What else is a man good for?"
"Don't be so flip, Sally Jane. You know——" He stopped short.
She waited a moment. Then, "I know what?"
"You know I've been loving you a long, long time," he said abruptly. "I didn't want to tell you till I had something to offer you besides myself. And now I've got something—Rafe Tuckleton has promised to make me sheriff."
"I thought the voters usually decided such things," said she.
He laughed cynically. "Not in Crocker. We know the better way. Well, I've told you, Sally Jane. What do you say?"
She looked at him coolly. "What is this—a proposal?"
"Sure, I want you to marry me."
"No, you don't." There was no hint of coquetry in either her tone or the direct gaze of her violet eyes.