Then his voice broke into quavering rage as he went on.

“You jest think of a lovin’, trustin’, and confidin’ woman gettin’ holt of a gob of p’isen like that!” He shook the crackling sheet over his head. “‘Darlin’ Hiram, how could you leave me, but if you will come away with me now all will be forgiven and forgotten, from one who loves you truly and well, and has followed you to remind you of your promise.’  My Gawd, Cap’n, ain’t that something to raise a blister on the motto, ’God Bless Our Home’?”

“It’s done it over to my house,” said the Cap’n, lugubriously.

“There never was any such woman—­there never could have been any such woman,” Hiram went on in fervid protest.  “There ain’t nobody with a license to chase me up.”

“Ditto and the same,” chimed in Cap’n Sproul.

“No one!”

“No one!” echoed the Cap’n.

They stood and looked at each other a little while, and then their eyes shifted in some embarrassment.

“Of course,” said Hiram, at last, moderating his tone of indignation, “when a man ain’t had no anchor he might have showed attentions such as ladies expect from gents, and sometimes rash promises is made.  Now, perhaps—­you understand I’m only supposin’—­perhaps you’ve got some one in mind that might have misjudged what you said to her—­some one that’s got a little touched in her head, perhaps, and she’s come here.  In that case it might give us a clue if you’re a mind to own up.”

The Cap’n flushed at this clumsy attempt of Hiram to secure a confidence.

“Seein’ that you’ve thought how it might be done all so quick and handy, showin’ what’s on your mind, I reckon you’d better lay down cards first,” he said, significantly.

“I think it’s jest a piece of snigdom by some one tryin’ to hurt us,” proceeded Hiram, boring the Cap’n with inquisitive gaze.  “But you never can tell what’s what in this world, and so long as we’re looking for clues we might as well have an understandin’, so’s to see if there’s any such thing as two wimmen meetin’ accidental and comparin’ notes and gettin’ their heads together.”

“None for me,” said the Cap’n, but he said it falteringly.

“Well, there’s none for me, either, but there’s such a thing as havin’ what you’ve said misjudged by wimmen.  Where the wimmen ain’t strong-headed, you know.”  He hesitated for a time, fiddling his forefinger under his nose.  “There was just one woman I made talk to in my life such as a gent shouldn’t have made without backin’ it up.  If she’d been stronger in her head I reckon she’d have realized that bein’ sick, like I was, and not used to wimmen, and bein’ so grateful for all her care and attention and kindness and head-rubbin’, I was sort of took unawares, as you might say.  A stronger-headed woman would have said to herself that it wasn’t to be laid up against me.  But as soon as I got to settin’ up and eatin’ solid food I could see that she was sappy, and prob’ly wanted to get out of nussin’ and get married, and so she had it all written down on her nuss-diary what I said, mixed in with temperature, pulse, and things.  I—­”