Tillie grew cold with fear that the teacher might hear them; but she knew there was no use in protesting.

“Are you goin’ to keep on at William Penn all winter, Absalom?” Mrs. Wackernagel asked.

“Just long enough to see if he kin learn ’rithmetic to me.  Ezra Herr, he was too dumm to learn me.”

“Mebbe,” said the doctor, astutely, “you was too dumm to get learnt!”

“I am wonderful dumm in ’rithmetic,” Absalom acknowledged shamelessly.  “But pop says this here teacher is smart and kin mebbe learn me.  I’ve not saw him yet myself.”

Much as Tillie disliked being alone with her suitor, she was rather relieved this evening when the family, en masse, significantly took its departure to the second floor; for she hoped that with no one but Absalom to deal with, she could induce him to lower his voice so their talk would not be audible to the teacher in the room above.

Had she been able but faintly to guess what was to ensue on her being left alone with him, she would have fled up-stairs with the rest of the family and left Absalom to keep company with the chairs.

XVII

THE TEACHER MEETS ABSALOM

Only a short time had the sitting-room been abandoned to them when Tillie was forced to put a check upon her lover’s ardor.

“Now, Absalom,” she firmly said, moving away from his encircling arm, “unless you leave me be, I’m not sitting on the settee alongside you at all.  You must not kiss me or hold my hand—­or even touch me.  Never again.  I told you so last Sunday night.”

“But why?” Absalom asked, genuinely puzzled.  “Is it that I kreistle you, Tillie?”

“N—­no,” she hesitated.  An affirmative reply, she knew, would be regarded as a cold-blooded insult.  In fact, Tillie herself did not understand her own repugnance to Absalom’s caresses.

“You act like as if I made you feel repulsive to me, Tillie,” he complained.

“N—­no.  I don’t want to be touched.  That’s all.”

“Well, I’d like to know what fun you think there is in settin’ up with a girl that won’t leave a feller kiss her or hug her!”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you do see in it, Absalom.  I told you not to come.”

“If I ain’t to hold your hand or kiss yon, what are we to do to pass the time?” he reasoned.

“I’ll tell you, Absalom.  Let me read to you.  Then we wouldn’t be wasting the evening.”

“I ain’t much fur readin’.  I ain’t like Teacher.”  He frowned and looked at her darkly.  “I’ve took notice how much fur books you are that way.  Last Sunday night, too, you sayed, ’Let me read somepin to you.’  Mebbe you and Teacher will be settin’ up readin’ together.  And mebbe the Doc wasn’t just jokin’ when he sayed Teacher might cut me out!”

“Please, Absalom,” Tillie implored him, “don’t talk so loud!”