“Of course,” he answered, “but you can’t tell anything from them. What did you think of it?”

“I was surprised.”

“Surprised?”

“Yes.”

“What at?”

“At you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

A heavy silence fell, and Emily sat there, her eyes on the silver sugar bowl she slowly fitted to a design in the tablecloth. Her lips, though, were set, and Garwood, stealing a glance at them, moved uneasily. Here was the first of his constituents he must reckon with.

“Well, Pusey’ll make a good postmaster,” he ventured at last, seeing that she was not likely to speak.