"Maybe I might come and look at it now, if I was asked," he suggested. "Plenty of room on that bench, is there?"
"Oh, yes, sir, there's lots. I don't take much room and Petunia almost always sits on my lap. Please come."
So Jed came and, sitting down upon the bench, looked off at the inlet and the beach and the ocean beyond. It was the scene most familiar to him, one he had seen, under varying weather conditions, through many summers and winters. This very thought was in his mind as he looked at it now.
After a time he became aware that his companion was speaking.
"Eh?" he ejaculated, coming out of his reverie. "Did you say somethin'?"
"Yes, sir, three times. I guess you were thinking, weren't you?"
"Um-m—yes, I shouldn't be surprised. It's one of my bad habits, thinkin' is."
She looked hard to see if he was smiling, but he was not, and she accepted the statement as a serious one.
"Is thinking a bad habit?" she asked. "I didn't know it was."
"Cal'late it must be. If it wasn't, more folks would do it. Tell me, now," he added, changing the subject to avoid further cross- questioning, "do you and your ma like it here?"