Two hours later, after Mary had answered the last questions even Captain Shad could think of, had received answers to all her own, and had gone to her room for the night, Mr. Hamilton turned to his partner and observed mildly: 

“Shadrach, what made you so dreadful peppery to Isaiah this evenin’?  I declare, I thought you was goin’ to take his head off.”

The Captain grunted.  “I will take it off some time,” he declared, “if he don’t keep the lower end of it shut when he’d ought to.  You heard what he said, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I heard.  That about the Smith boy’s good looks, you mean?”

“Sartin.  And about Mary-’Gusta’s noticin’ how good-lookin’ he was.  Rubbish!”

“Yes—­yes, I know, but Isaiah was only jokin’.”

“Jokin’!  Well, he may look like a comic almanac, but he needn’t try to joke like one while that girl of ours is around.  Puttin’ notions about fellers and good looks and keepin’ company into her head!  You might expect such stuff from them fool drummers that come to the store, but an old leather-skinned image like Isaiah Chase ought to have more sense.  We don’t want such notions put in her head, do we?”

Zoeth rubbed his chin.  He did not speak and his silence seemed to irritate his partner.

“Well, do we?” repeated the latter, sharply.

Zoeth sighed.  “No, Shadrach,” he admitted.  “I guess likely we don’t, but—­”

“But what?”

“Well, we’ve got to realize that those kind of notions come—­come sort of natural to young folks Mary-’Gusta’s age.”

“Rubbish!  I don’t believe that girl’s got a single one of ’em in her mind.”

“Maybe not, but they’ll be there some day.  Ah, well,” he added, “we mustn’t be selfish, you and me, Shadrach.  It’ll be dreadful hard to give her up to somebody else, but if that somebody is a good man, kind and straight and honest, why, I for one will try not to complain.  But, Oh, Shadrach!  Suppose he should turn out to be the other thing.  Suppose she makes the mistake that I—­”

His friend interrupted.

“Shh! shh!” he broke in, quickly.  “Don’t talk so, Zoeth.  Come on to bed,” he added, rising from his chair.  “This very evenin’ I was callin’ Isaiah names for talkin’ about ‘fellers’ and such, and here you and I have been sittin’ talkin’ nothin’ else.  If you hear me say ‘fool’ in my sleep tonight just understand I’m talkin’ to myself, that’s all.  Come on aloft, Zoeth, and turn in.”

The following morning Mary astonished her uncles by announcing that as soon as she had helped Isaiah with the breakfast dishes and the bed making she was going up to the store.

“What for?” demanded Captain Shad.  “Course we’ll be mighty glad to have your company, but Zoeth and me presumed likely you’d be for goin’ round callin’ on some of the other girls today.”

“Well, I’m not.  If they want to see me they can call on me here.  I’m going up to the store with you and Uncle Zoeth.  I want to help sell those Christmas goods of ours.”