Then--then--well, then Maud and I
became friends and--and--oh, confound it, you see what I mean! You
must see."
The Winslow knee was clasped between the Winslow hands and the
Winslow foot was swinging. Jed nodded again.
"I see, Charlie," he said.
"And--and here I am. The smash has come, in a way, already.
Babbitt, so Ruth tells me, knows the whole story and was threatening
to tell, but she says Grover assures her that he won't tell, that he,
the major, has a club over the old fellow which will prevent his
telling. Do you think that's true?"
"I shouldn't be surprised. Major Grover sartinly did seem to put
the fear of the Lord into Phin this afternoon. . . . And that's
no one-horse miracle," he drawled, "when you consider that all
the ministers in Orham haven't been able to do it for forty odd
years. . . . Um. . . . Yes, I kind of cal'late Phin'll keep his
hatches shut. He may bust his b'iler and blow up with spite, but
he won't talk about you, Charlie, I honestly believe. And we can
all thank the major for that."
"I shall thank him, for one!"
"Mercy on us! No, no. He doesn't know your story at all. He just
thinks Babbitt was circulatin' lies about Ruth--about your sister.
You mustn't mention the Middleford--er--mess to Major Grover."
"Humph! Well, unless I'm greatly mistaken, Ruth--"
"Eh? Ruth--what?"
"Oh, nothing.
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