.

.

Caleb Hammond, you and me don't want to find a minister; what we need to look up is a pair of guardians to take care of us." But Mr.Hammond seized her arm.
"Hannah," he cried, excitedly, "do you understand what that means--that clock strikin'?
It means that, bein' as we're only five miles from home, we can GET home, if we want to, afore anybody's out of bed.

You can sneak up that ladder again; I can get that horse and team back in Thankful's stable; we can both be in our own beds by gettin'-up time and not one soul need ever know a word about this foolishness.

If we--" But Miss Parker had not waited for him to finish; she was already on her way to the carryall.
At a quarter after seven that morning Thankful knocked at the door of her boarder's room.
"Mr.Hammond!" she called.