Now, this is what you must do;
you must see her alone and tell her my plan; here, take this diamond
ring; she knows it well; manage to let her see it on your finger;
then tell her that if she is willing to leave home and marry me, I
will be in the woods half a mile above her house to-morrow afternoon
at 5 o'clock, with a horse and buggy ready to carry her to
Belvidere. If she will not, or dare not come, give her the ring, and
tell her we part, good friends, forever."
It was a beautiful afternoon as we drove along the road. We talked
about Sarah and old times, and I made her repeat my instructions
over and over again and she promised to convey every word to Sarah.
We neared Scheimer's house about six o'clock, and when we were a
little way from there I told Mary to get out, so as to excite no
suspicions as to who I was; she did so, and I waited till I saw her
go into the house, and then drove rapidly by towards the Belvidere
bridge, and was safely at Oxford by nightfall. I told my friend, the
landlord, what I had done, and he said that everything was well
planned. He also promised to go with me next day to assist me if
necessary, and, said he:
"If everything is all right, do you carry off the girl and I'll walk
up to Belvidere; but don't bring Sarah this way-head toward Water
Gap. When you're married fast and sure, you can come back here as
leisurely as you're a mind to, and nobody can lay a hand upon you or
her."
We arranged some other minor details of our expedition and I went to
bed.
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