The captain and Sylvester were leaning on the fence by the gate, looking up the road and waiting for Dan and the “two-seater” to heave in sight around the bend. The hired man had harnessed early and driven to the station at least thirty minutes before train time. Captain Elisha was responsible for the early start. Steve was coming on that train; possibly someone else was coming. The captain did not mean they should find no welcome or vehicle at the station.
The whistle had sounded ten minutes before. It was time for Dan to appear at the bend.
“I hope to thunder Jim got that telegram,” observed the captain for the twentieth time, at least, since breakfast.
“So do I,” replied his friend. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t, is there?”
“No, no sensible one; but I’ve scared up no less than a couple of hundred of the other kind. If he shouldn’t come—my, my! she’d be disappointed.”
“You wouldn’t feel any disappointment yourself, of course,” said the lawyer, with sarcasm.
“Who? Me? Oh, I’d be sorer’n a scalded wharf rat in a barrel of pepper. But I don’t count. There’s the real one up there.”
He motioned with his head toward the window of Caroline’s room. Sylvester nodded. “Yes,” he said, “I suppose so. Captain, I’m somewhat surprised that you should be willing to trust that niece of yours to another man. She’s a pretty precious article, according to your estimate.”
“Well, ain’t she accordin’ to yours?”
“Yes. Pretty precious and precious pretty. Look at her now.”