"I see ye’r pint, Tom, an’ it’s a good one. Guess I’d better hustle home, fer I do feel mighty sore."
Scrambling up over the wheel, he flopped himself down by Belle’s side and picked up the reins.
"Well, s’long, Tom. Much obliged fer ye’r help an’ advice. Will see ye later. Gid-dap, Jerry."
After they had fairly started on the homeward way, Abner pulled out his pipe and tobacco.
"No, not at all," the girl replied. "I enjoy the smell of tobacco."
"That’s good. Me nerves are a bit upsot to-day, an’ terbaccer allus steadies ’em."
"I am afraid that I am the cause of your trouble, Mr. Andrews. I had no idea that it was you I was whipping, but thought it was a scoundrel wishing to harm me."
"Ye didn’t know me, eh? Well, where in the name of all creation was ye goin’ with Jerry?"
"Merely for a drive. I didn’t want to sit in the waggon with the young men at the station staring at me, so I thought I would drive around for a while until you came back. That was all."
"H’m, so that was the way of it, eh? But I do admire ye’r pluck. The way ye walloped me was sartinly wonderful, an’ you only a slip of a gal at that."
"I’m used to taking care of myself, Mr. Andrews. In fact, I like an adventure once in a while, for it adds a little spice to life."
"Sure, sure, ye’r right, Miss. Guess we must be somethin’ alike as fer’s that’s consarned."
"And you are fond of adventure, too; of real exciting experiences?" the girl eagerly asked.
"But you don’t find much adventure on a quiet farm, do you?"
"Adventure! Well, I guess ye don’t know Ash Pint yit. Why, my old farm is so light that I have to keep it anchored down fer fear it’ll go up like a balloon."
"Yep; that’s Gospel truth. G’long, Jerry. Then, there’s a gravel hill on my place which makes the earth top heavy, an’ so the Government is goin’ to take it away."
"You don’t say so! Why, Jess never told me anything about such things."
"Oh, she’s used to ’em. Anyway, she’s so sot on Social Service that she can’t come down to common things. Say, de you swaller all that stuff?"
"Social Service gas, an’ what it’ll do fer the world, sich as elevatin’ pigs into hogs an’ sich like."
"I try to be interested," and Belle gave a deep sigh. "Jess is so wrapped up in her work that I do all I can to help her. But I ani afraid that I’m too light-headed for such things."