Suddenly Lorna shrieked and ran at him. The old lightkeeper skipped out of her path with surprising agility.
"Aw—now—Lorny!" he gasped, "don't be too hard on a fellow."
"Tobias Bassett! Those eggs!"
"Oh, sugar! They be a mess, now, ain't they?" And he chuckled.
CHAPTER XXIV
UNDERSTANDING
It is admitted that those eggs saved Tobias Bassett from feeling the full weight of the young woman's wrath. And that is as well. For the eggs were by this time absolutely useless for any other purpose. One cannot poach eggs for twenty minutes and pronounce them edible.
"And this toast! What a black mess!" scolded Lorna. "The tea must have been boiling half an hour, too. Tobias Bassett, would you serve such a meal as that to your poor, sick sister?"
"Oh, sugar! I tell you I ain't no fancy cook, Lorny. I—I guess I'll go up and fill the lamp. Zeke ain't going to be with us to-day. My, my! hear that wind, will ye?"
He was glad to get out of the kitchen. That young woman, he opined, was some spitfire! But he chuckled hugely as he clumped up the stairs.