"Oh, it will be more amusing at the Smiths'; unless, of course, she needs the sea."
"She thought, or I thought rather, that you might like to come with us for a while?" said Mrs. Hodge in a tentative tone.
"I can't get away," answered Dale decisively. Nothing would have taken him away from the Grange gates.
Mrs. Hodge took her courage in both hands.
"Look here, Dale," she said. "You know I'm not one of those women that lay hold of a man if he as much as looks at a girl, and asks him what he means by it. That's not my way. Hodge used to say girls could take care of themselves mostly—p'r'aps he wasn't far out. But Nellie's not that sort, and her father's gone, good man, and——" and the excellent lady came to a full stop.
Dale loved this honest old woman for long acquaintance' sake and much kindness. He laid his hand on her shoulder and said:
"It's a sad world, mother."
"The child's fond of you, Dale. She's shown that."
"I'm a crossed lover too, mother. We can only weep together."
"What, you mean that Grange girl?" asked Mrs. Hodge, her love for her own making her tone tart.