"You did? You DID? And you have the cheek to own up to it right afore my face."
Jed's hand stroked his chin. "W-e-e-ll," he drawled, "you just ordered me not to lie out of it, you know. Leander asked me right up and down if I wouldn't enlist if I was in his position. Naturally, I said I would."
"Yes, you did. And you knew all the time how I felt about it, you SNEAK."
Jed's foot slowly sank to the floor and just as slowly he hoisted himself from the chair.
"Phin," he said, with deliberate mildness, "is there anything else you'd like to ask me? 'Cause if there isn't, maybe you'd better run along."
"You sneakin' coward!"
"Er—er—now—now, Phin, you didn't understand. I said 'ask' me, not 'call' me."
"No, I didn't come here to ask you anything. I came here and waited here so's to be able to tell you somethin'. And that is that I know now that you're responsible for my son—my only boy, the boy I'd depended on—and—and—"
The fierce little man was, for the moment, close to breaking down. Jed's heart softened; he felt almost conscience-stricken.
"I'm sorry for you, Phineas," he said. "I know how hard it must be for you. Leander realized it, too. He—"