"He's a ghost from the past, George," answered the master.
"Yes; and there's a few things less useful to busy men than ghosts from the past—especially weak and silly souls like Gill," answered Mr. Middleweek. "He's a ghost easily laid, however, and I don't reckon he'll be back along in a hurry. 'Tis amazing how silly the wisdom of most old men looks, even in the light of middle-aged knowledge."
"The times move so fast," explained Jacob, "and the wisdom of the fathers is the foolishness of the children. In fact there's only one high fashion of wisdom, if you come to be an old man, George; and that is to keep your mouth shut all the time."
"There's some old fools you can forgive," declared the kennel-man, "but not old fools that bleat the past. Who has got time or patience for them?"
Then, as the evening shut down, Jacob came into tea and found that Auna and Avis had arranged a feast for him.
Now it was the turn of Avis and she led the conversation to her marriage.
"I do hope you'll see your way to it pretty soon, father," she said, and he promised her that the wedding was going to be his first care.
"Pray God your mother will be well enough to come," he hoped boldly; and Auna echoed his wish, but Avis doubted.
"I'm sure she wouldn't like Bob and me to wait any more, even though she's not very well. And I don't much think she would come, even if she could," explained Jacob's daughter. "Of course there's no getting away from the past, and granny would be a good bit put about if mother was to want to come to Red House after."
"Grandfather's rather wishful for mother to be at the church, however," said Auna, "for he told me so."