"Why don't you let the boy go alone, Price?" suggested Mahaffy.
He lacked that sense of sublime confidence in the judge's tact
and discretion of which the judge, himself, entertained never a
doubt.
"I shall not obtrude myself, Solomon; I shall merely walk out to
Belle Plain and leave a civil message. I know what's due Miss
Malroy in her bereaved state--she has sustained no ordinary loss,
and in no ordinary fashion. She has been the center of a
striking and profoundly moving tragedy! I would give a good deal
to know if my late client left a will--"
"You might ask her," said Mahaffy cynically. "Nothing like going
to headquarters for the news!"
"Solomon, Solomon, give me credit for common sense--go further,
and give me credit for common decency! Don't let us forget that
ever since we came here she has manifested a charmingly
hospitable spirit where we are concerned!"
"Wouldn't charity hit nearer the mark, Price?"
"I have never so regarded it, Solomon," said the judge mildly.
"I have read a different meaning in the beef and flour and
potatoes she's sent here. I expect if the truth could be known
to us she is wondering in the midst of her grief why I haven't
called, but she'll appreciate the considerate delicacy of a
gentleman. I wish it were possible to get cut flowers in this
cussed wilderness!"
The judge had been occupied with a simple but ingenious toilet.
He had trimmed the frayed skirts of, his coat; then by turning
his cuffs inside out and upside down a fresh surface made its
first public appearance.
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