So Peter went to the manicure parlor, and sure enough, there was the little golden-haired lady; and sure enough, she had read all about him, she had been dreaming that some day she might meet him again—­and so Peter invited her to go to a picture show.  On the way home they became very chummy, and before a week went by it was as if they had been friends for life.  When Peter asked Miss Frisbie if he might kiss her, she answered coyly that he might, but after he had kissed her a few times she explained to him that she was a self-supporting woman, alone and defenseless in the world, and she had nobody to speak for her but herself; she must tell him that she had always been a respectable woman, and that she wanted him to know that before he kissed her any more.  And Peter thought it over and decided that he had sowed his full share of wild oats in this life; he was ready to settle down, and the next time he saw Miss Frisbie he told her so, and before the evening was by they were engaged.

Then Peter went to see Guffey, and seated himself on the edge of the chair alongside Guffey’s desk, and twisted his hat in his hands, and flushed very red, and began to stammer out his confession.  He expected to be received with a gale of ridicule; he was immensely relieved when Guffey said that if Peter had really found a good girl and wanted to marry her, he, Guffey, was for it.  There was nothing like the influence of a good woman, and Guffey much preferred his operatives should be married men, living a settled and respectable life.  They could be trusted then, and sometimes when a woman operative was needed, they had a partner ready to hand.  If Peter had got married long ago, he might have had a good sum of money in the bank by now.

Peter ventured to point out that twenty dollars a week was not exactly a marrying salary, in the face of the present high cost of living.  Guffey answered that that was true, and he would raise Peter to thirty dollars right away—­only first he demanded the right to talk to Peter’s fiancee, and judge for himself whether she was worthy.  Peter was delighted, and Miss Frisbie had a private and confidential interview with Peter’s boss.  But afterwards Peter wasn’t quite so delighted, for he realized what Guffey had done.  Peter’s future wife had been told all about Peter’s weakness, and how Peter’s boss looked to her to take care of her husband and make him walk the chalkline.  So a week after Peter had entered the holy bonds of matrimony, when he and Mrs. Gudge had their first little family tiff, Peter suddenly discovered who was going to be top dog in that family.  He was shown his place once for all, and he took it,—­alongside that husband who described his domestic arrangements by saying that he and his wife got along beautifully together, they had come to an arrangement by which he was to have his way on all major issues, and she was to have her way on all minor issues, and so far no major issues had arisen.