“You—er—want me to let you use this lodge after all?” he said, slowly.
“That is what I said, Mr. Skeetles. And let me add that it will be a good bargain for you to make with us.”
“I don’t see it. I came here a-purpose to make ye leave.”
“Well, ‘circumstances alter cases,’ you know. You didn’t expect to be caught in a blizzard, did you?”
“No, if I had known it was going to snow like this I’d stayed home.”
“We will do the lodge no harm,” put in Joe.
“Fact is, we’ve already mended the roof and the window, as you can see.”
“Yes, I know, but——”
“But what?” came from Harry.
“Never mind now.” Hiram Skeetles had been on the point of mentioning his missing pocketbook and the papers, but he checked himself. “How long do you intend to stay?”