"Look out, look out! Can't be too sure.... There, there, Sarah, don't be cross. I won't torment you."
He laughed and Mrs. Macomber, after a moment, laughed too.
"You are a tease, Sears," she declared, "and always was. Shall I tell Mr. Phillips you came to see him?"
"Eh? No, indeed you shan't. Don't you mention my name to him. He loves me so much that he might cry all night at the thought of not bein' at home when I called. Don't tell him a word. I'll try again."
The next forenoon he did try again. Judah had some trucking to do in the western part of the village and the captain rode with him on the seat of the truck wagon as far as the store. From there he intended to walk to his sister's, for walking, even as long a distance as a mile, was no longer an impossibility. As he alighted by the store platform Captain Elkanah Wingate came out of the Bassett emporium.
"Mornin', Kendrick," he hailed.
Sears did not share Bayport's awe of the prosperous Elkanah. He returned the greeting as casually as if the latter had been an everyday citizen.
"Been spendin' your money on Eliphalet's bargains?" he inquired.
The great man did not resent the flippancy. He seemed to be in a particularly pleasant humor.
"Got a little extra to spend to-day," he declared, with a chuckle. "Picked up twenty dollars this mornin' that I never expected to see again."