“‘THIS IS A ’PORTANT MATTER. “GUESS SO” WON’T DO. SAY “YES,” PLEASE’”
“And what about the secret?” asked the clergyman, after some moments of silence.
She looked up quickly. She had been busy pondering how far she should explain matters, and had half forgotten his presence.
“Why, you know, you said old ones were lots better than new ones, but I am afraid you were mistaken, for Daddy Joe’s is very, very bad.”
“What are you talking about, child?”
“Why, you said it your very own self, you did.” Here was a new difficulty. “A minister can’t back out of what he said. And you said it, sir. Don’t you remember that Sunday you preached that old ones were better than the new ones? Please think hard.”
“Old what?”
“Why, old fiddles. You said so.”
“Oh, well, suppose I did. It’s a well-known fact, little girl.”
“I did understand right, after all, then? But what can be the matter with Daddy Joe’s?”