“Yes, he did. I rather guess Zeb Mayo or somebody may have suggested it to him first, but—”
“Humph! I rather guess so, too.”
“Well, you can't always tell. Sometimes when you really get inside of a person you find a generous streak that—”
“Not in a Daniels. Anybody that got inside of Elkanah would find nothin' but Elkanah there, and 'twould be crowded at that. So he's talkin' to the new parson, hey? Bossin' him, too, I'll bet.”
“I ain't so sure. Mr. Ellery's young, but he's got a mind of his own.”
Captain Hammond chuckled and slapped his knee.
“Ho, ho!” he laughed. “I've been hearin' somethin' about that mind. Went to the chapel last night, I understand, and he and dad had a set-to. Oh, I heard about it! Wish I might have been there.”
“How does your father act about it?”
“'Bout the way a red-hot stove acts when you spill water on it; every time he thinks of the minister he sizzles. Ho, ho! I do wish I could have been there.”
“What does Grace say?”