“You’ll never get anything any other way,” he said.
“Perhaps not, but we’ve concluded to wait,” said Mrs. Dudley. “We can’t do much worse if we get nothing at all.”
After a moment’s reflection, Mr. Tinkham said:
“I’ll do a little better by you, Mrs. Dudley. I’ll give you a hundred and fifty. That’s the very best I can do.”
“I will not sell the claim at present,” said Mrs. Dudley. “It is of no use to offer.”
It would have been better if Mrs. Dudley had not spoken so positively. Mr. Tinkham was set a-thinking. Why wouldn’t the widow sell? Why had she changed her mind since yesterday? Why did Mr. Beal, the lawyer, not appear at the consultation? All these questions the shrewd little Tinkham asked himself, and all these questions he asked of Francis Gray that evening.