Armstrong has a
past, do you?"
"A past? What kind of a thing is a past, for thunder sakes?"
"Why, I mean a--a--well, has she done something she doesn't want
other people to know; is she trying to hide something, like--well,
as people do in stories?"
"Eh? Oh, in the books! I see. Well, young woman, I cal'late the
first thing for your dad to do is to find out what sort of books
you read. A past! Ho, ho! I guess likely Mrs. Armstrong is a
plaguey sight more worried about the future than she is about the
past. She has lived the past already, but she's got to live the
future and pay the bills belongin' to it, and that's no triflin'
job in futures like these days."
Needless to say Jed Winslow did no speculating concerning his
tenant's "past." Having settled the question of that tenancy
definitely and, as he figured it, forever, he put the matter
entirely out of his mind and centered all his energies upon the new
variety of mill, the gull which was to flap its wings when the wind
blew. Barbara was, of course, much interested in the working out
of this invention, and her questions were many. Occasionally Mrs.
Armstrong came into the shop. She and Jed became better acquainted.
The acquaintanceship developed. Jed formed a daily habit of
stopping at the Armstrong door to ask if there were any errands to
be done downtown.
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