"Fair and honest, my lad; what I expected from you."
"Well, then, I have been sorry to find that Mr. Kindred"--
"Minnie's father--yes," interrupted the Old Sailor, with a sharp look at Joshua.
"Has been changed to all of us lately, and especially to me; and I have been sorry to think that it is because of something which I have done that he is so changed."
"You know of nothing, Josh?"
"Nothing--absolutely nothing; and that's what grieves me. If I did know, I should be able to justify myself. Why, sir, this morning he refused to see me when I went to wish him good-by, and refused to let me see Minnie. I did not speak of this thing to Dan because of my love for him."
"And because," said the Old Sailor, "supposing that Dan had a secret and had imparted it to you, you thought that Dan would be easier in his mind--in consequence of his secret--if he did not know of Mr. Kindred's strange refusal to see you."
"Just so, sir."
"Could I guess this secret of Dan's?" questioned the Old Sailor. "Could an old tar like me, who wouldn't be supposed to know much of boys and girls and their whims and whams, venture to guess that this secret of our dear friend Dan's was all about a woman?"
Joshua did not reply.