“Well, dancing can wait a spell,” answered Aunt Mary, comfortably.  “The governor said that all the folks at Cloverbend and Providence and Hillsboro are going, and Riverfield has got to shake out a forefoot in the trip and not a hind one.”

“Oh, we’ll have the dance next week, Corn-tassel,” promised Matthew, promptly enough to prevent the drenching of the violets.  “It will be great to hear Baldwin accept his portfolio, as it were.”

“And after his term begins I suppose he’ll have offices at the capitol and will be in town most of the time.  Then we can have him at all the dances.  Polly, he dances like nothing earthly.  Still Matthew won’t let him come near you; he’s deadly to women.  We are all positively drugged by him,” exclaimed Bess, delighted at the idea of Hayesville society acquiring the new commissioner of agriculture for a permanent light.

“Then I can count on you to help Mrs. Tillett and the children in and out, Nancy?” continued Aunt Mary, with the light of such generalship in her eye that I was afraid even to mention my one-sided feud with the hero of the hour.  “You can take Baby Tillett and sit a little way apart from her so she won’t have to feed him all the time to keep him quiet.”

“I can take eight people in my car, Mother Corn-tassel,” said Matthew, with the most beautiful eagerness.

“I can get in five,” added Bess, with an equal eagerness.  “Can I have the Addcocks?” Bess and the pessimistic Mrs. Addcock had got together over some medicine to prevent pip in the conservatory young Leghorns.

“Yes, and Matthew can take all the eight Spains if I can sit down Mrs. Spain to a bolt of gingham in time to get them all nicely covered for such a company,” decreed the general, as she ran over in her mind’s eye the rest of the population of Riverfield.  “I’ll make all the men hitch their best teams to the different rigs, and by starting early and taking both dinner and supper on the way we can get there in plenty of time.  Twenty miles is not more than a half day’s trip.”

“I can sit by you and hold two Spains in my lap,” I heard Polly plan with Matthew.

“Sure you can,” he answered her.  “I think the loveliest thing about Matthew Berry is the way he speaks to women and children.”  As he answered, he piled Aunt Mary and Polly in beside the rest of the wheat-bags and motored them away down the avenue.

“Ann, please come to town with me,” pleaded Bess as she got into her car and prepared to follow in the wake of the wheat-bags.  “I miss you so, and Belle weeps at the mention of you.  She and I are having dinner at the Old Hickory Club with Houston Jeffries and Owen to-night.  Matt will come, and let’s have one good old time.  I came all this way to get you.”