"You seem to be looking for something. You watch the girls so closely, you're always hanging around, and—"
He smiled broadly. "Thanks for that. 'Hanging around,' in my own parsonage. That is the gratitude of a loving family!"
Aunt Grace smiled. "Well, I see there's nothing much the matter with you. I was seriously worried. I thought there was something wrong, and—"
"Sort of mentally unbalanced, is that it? Oh, no, I'm just watching my family."
She looked up quickly. "Watching the family! You mean—"
"Carol," he said briefly.
"Oh, only in the most honorable way, of course. You see," he gave his explanation with an air of relief, "Prudence always says I must keep an eye on Carol. She's so pretty, and the boys get stuck on her, and—that's what Prudence says. I forgot all about it for a while. But lately I have begun to notice that the boys are older, and—we don't want Carol falling in love with the wrong man. I got uneasy. I decided to watch out. I'm the head of this family, you know."
"Such an idea!" scoffed Aunt Grace, who was not at all of a scoffing nature.
"Carol was born for lovers, Prudence says so. And these men's girls have to be watched, or the wrong fellow will get ahead, and—"