“Of course not, of course not,” declared Mrs. Cressler joyfully. “That’s ‘ J. ’ all over. I might have known he’d have you if he set out to do it.”

“Morning, noon, and night,” Laura continued. “He seemed willing to wait as long as I wasn’t definite; but one day I wrote to him and gave him a square ‘No,’ so as he couldn’t mistake, and just as soon as I’d said that he⁠—he⁠—began. I didn’t have any peace until I’d promised him, and the moment I had promised he had a ring on my finger. He’d had it ready in his pocket for weeks it seems. No,” she explained, as Mrs. Cressler laid her fingers upon her left hand, “That I would not have⁠—yet.”

“Oh, it was like ‘ J. ’ to be persistent,” repeated Mrs. Cressler.