I was nursing my disappointment and watching the disappearing carriage,
when Mr. Knipp, the brewer, with his load of empty kegs drew up, and
asked what I was thinking about so hard. It was a relief to see his
jolly, good-natured face, and I told him briefly that our people were
in town and wished to take us home with them. He got down from his
wagon to say confidentially:
"Thou must not leave grandpa and grandma, because the old man is always
kind to thee, and though she may sometimes wag a sharp tongue, she
means well. Be patient, by-and-by thou wilt have a nice property, the
country will have more people for hire, and thou wilt not have so hard
to work."
When I told him that I did not want the property, and that there were
other things I did care for, he continued persuasively:
"Women need not so much learning from books. Grandma would not know how
to scold so grandly if she remembered not so many fine words from
'Wilhelm Tell' and the other books that she knoweth by heart." And he
climbed back and drove off, believing that he had done me a good turn.
To my great satisfaction, Georgia arrived about dark, saying that
Benjamin had brought her and would call for us later to spend the
evening with them. When we reached the hotel, Elitha received us
affectionately, and did not refer to the disappointments of the
afternoon. The time was given up to talk about plans for our future,
and that night when we two crept into bed, I felt that I had been eased
of a heavy burden, for Benjamin was willing to await grandma's return.
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