Ted's unaccountable demeanour. "Coom," cried Joe, "thou mun explain a bit, Ted, lad. We're gettin' fair moidered wi' this job; how long dost thou mean to keep it up?" "Haven't you and Margaret fallen out yet?" put in another. "Ye're carryin' on th' coortin' longer nor we looked for." "Ah, thou said thou'd content thysel' with bein' shouted, didn't thou? Thou allus said thou didn't mean it to coom to wedlock." Ted heaved a deep sigh, and looked solemnly from one to the other. "Theer's no knowin' i' this warld what folks cooms to," he replied seriously. "We says one thing an' we reckon we'se do it, an' when th' time cooms it's impossible." A blank silence fell upon the company, broken presently by Joe. "Why," he said, "thou doesn't mean thou'rt goin' to carry out this here business?" Ted nodded, seriously and regretfully. There was a general shout. "Thou'rt never goin' to wed owd Marg'ret Hep.?" "Hoo's noan so owd as that cooms to," retorted Ted indignantly. "Her an' me's mich of an age—I am goin' to wed her. Now then! I've coorted her, an' we'n been shouted, an' I'm goin' to let it go forrud. Theer! I hope nobry hasn't got no objections." Nobody hadn't none, it appeared, though from certain low murmurs and a general shuffling of feet, it was evident that this unexpected outcome of Ted's joke caused a good deal of dissatisfaction. Joe, indeed, gave voice to the universal opinion when he observed that it wasn't what he had looked for, and he couldn't think it altogether 'andsome of Ted. Somebody else wanted to know what about their five shillin'? "Well, an' what about the five shillin'?" repeated Ted, reddening, however, a little uncomfortably. "Well, this here isn't what we expected; nay, not by a long road. We was lookin' for summat joy'al, a gradely marlock, thou knows. This here's an ord'nary kind o' business." "Ah, we all paid up—we did that, an' we'n been waitin' for thee to look in yonder at Orme's! We was all expectin' a bit of a do, thou knows—an' thou's never so
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