“Charge!” I said to myself. And he set his elbows akimbo under his cape and came at a trot.
He tried to rush past me on his way to the fence, but I stepped in front of him and threw up my hands.
“Just a moment, Judge Kingsley! This is my business—”
“Your business be damned!” he stuttered.
Strong talk for a Sunday-school teacher, but it made him seem more human and my courage rose a bit. I had not known how to tackle that frozen figure he looked to be in the railroad train.
“But I’ll explain!”
“I’m going to find out what this set of infernal thieves—”
He wouldn’t wait any longer, though I was trying to head him off with my arms outstretched. He drove past me and wrenched a post out of the fence and started to climb into the wood-lot. There was only one thing to do—I must get the upper hand of the infuriated old man before we attracted the attention of my busy workers; the dusk was helping me in that respect.
I pulled the stake from him, held him by his arms, and set my face close to his; he was a scrawny old chap and he hadn’t any muscle left.
“Judge Kingsley, forgive me—but you must listen. It’s best for all concerned. I have bought this lot from you and I am operating on it.”