“I’ve heard the little tackers call one another ‘Indian giver.’ I couldn’t, ma’am, you know. It’s Jessie’s, now.”
The mistress’ face grew serious. She had not expected to find the man so obstinate. But she hated to wound him and turned the matter aside with the remark:
“Let it rest so, then, for the present. I will keep it in the safe till you come back–if I can. Though I begin to feel as if nothing were secure at Sobrante, nowadays.”
Ephraim pondered for a moment, then looked up with a relieved expression.
“Asking pardon, ma’am, I’m sure; have you got any–I mean much money handy by you?”
“No. I have not. Fortunately, beyond the wages of the men, not much ready cash is needed at Sobrante, where we produce so much.”
“Yes’m. Yet I wouldn’t like to set out on a journey that might be long, or even delayed for a spell, without considerable loose change. Better let the captain pay all expenses of the trip out of that little handful, and call it square.”
“Square! That is even greater generosity than the first. Lying in the safe you might have found it again; but spent–Ephraim, I fear I’ll never be able to repay such an amount. I must think out some other way.”
“Don’t you trust me, Mrs. Trent?”
“Am I not trusting you with the most precious thing in life–my daughter?”