Captain Obed’s forehead wrinkled in surprise.

“Witness somethin’?” he repeated.  Then, with a glance at John, who was as puzzled as he, “Humph!  I witnessed somethin’ this mornin’ and now I’m to witness somethin’ else.  I’ll begin to be an expert pretty soon, won’t I?  Humph!  What—­well, heave ahead, Imogene.  I’ll come.”

Imogene conducted them to the kitchen door where Mr. Parker still stood, looking remarkably foolish.  Imogene’s manner, however, was very business-like.

“Now then,” she said, addressing the two “witnesses,” “you see this piece of paper.  Perhaps you’d better read it first.”

She handed the paper to Captain Obed, who looked at it and passed it over to John.  It was the statement, signed by Kenelm, in which he agreed to marry Imogene whenever she asked him to do so.

“You see what ’tis, don’t you?” asked Imogene.  “Yes.  Well, now you watch and see what I do with it.”

She tore the agreement into small pieces.  Stepping into the kitchen she put the pieces in the stove.

“There!” she exclaimed, returning to the door.  “That ends that.  He and I,” pointing to Kenelm, “ain’t engaged any longer, and he don’t have to work here any longer.  Is it all plain to both of you?”

It was not altogether plain even yet.  The expression on the faces of the witnesses proved that.

“Now, Kenelm,” said Imogene cheerfully, “you can leave if you want to.  And,” with a mischievous chuckle, “when you get there you can give your sister my love, the inmate’s love, you know.  Lordy!  Won’t she enjoy gettin’ it!”

When Kenelm had gone, which he did immediately and without a word, Imogene vouchsafed an explanation.

“I never did want to marry him,” she said.  “When I get ready to marry anybody it’ll be somebody with more get-up-and-git than he’s got, I hope.  But I was ready to do anything to help Mrs. Thankful from frettin’ and when he talked about quittin’ his job right in the busy season I had to keep him here somehow, I just had to.  He was kind of—­of mushy and soft about me first along—­I guess guys of his kind are likely to be about any woman that’ll listen to ’em—­and when his sister got jealous and put him up to leavin’ I thought up my plan.  I got him to ask me—­he’d as much as asked me afore—­and then I made him sign that paper.  Ugh! the silliness I had to go through afore he would sign it!  Don’t ask me about it or I shan’t eat any dinner.  But he did sign it and I knew I had him under my thumb.  He’s scared of that sister of his, but he’s more scared of losin’ his money.  And she’s just as scared of that as he is.  They didn’t want any breachin’ of promises—­No sir-ee!  Ho! ho!”

She stopped to laugh in gleeful triumph.  John laughed too.  Captain Obed scratched his head.

“But, hold on there; heave to, Imogene!” he ordered.  “I don’t seem to get the whole of this yet.  You did agree to marry him.  Suppose he’d said you’d got to marry him, what then?”