"Famous! You never said 'James' to me before. Why haven't you?"

"I don't know," she faltered, with a sudden rush of color to her pale face.

"Well, that's my name," he resumed, laughing. "I guess it's because we are
getting better acquainted.

She looked up and said impetuously, "You don't know how a woman feels when a
man stands up for her as you did tonight."

"Well, I know how a man feels when there is a woman so well worth standing up
for. It was a lucky thing that I had nothing heavier in my hand than that
hickory." All the while he was looking at her curiously; then he spoke his
thought. "You're a quiet little woman, Alida, most times, but you're capable
of a thunder gust now and then."

"I'll try to be quiet at all times," she replied, with drooping eyes.

"Oh, I'm not complaining!" he said, laughing. "I like the trait."

He took a small pitcher and went to the dairy. Returning, he poured out two
glasses of milk and said, "Here's to your health and happiness, Alida; and
when I don't stand up for the woman who started out to save me from a mob of
murderers, may the next thing I eat or drink choke me. You didn't know they
were merely a lot of Oakville boys, did you?"

"You can't make so light of it," said she. "They tried to close on you, and if
that stone had struck you on the temple, it might have killed you. They swore
like pirates, and looked like ruffians with their blackened faces. They