Her whisper was broken by rising tears, which she checked in very shame.
"I want to speak to you," said Ephraim briefly.
So she rose and went out with him.

She put her shawl over her head and walked upon the roadside.

The day was mild, the first of the Indian summer.

Ephraim had not put up his horse; he led it by the bridle as he walked.
"Sure as I'm alive, it's her uncle as has come after her at last," said the wife of John Biery, gazing through the small panes of the kitchen window.

And, in truth, Ephraim did look many years older than Susannah, for his figure was bowed somewhat for lack of strength.
Susannah did not now think of Ephraim as old, neither did she think of him as young.