I was too astonished to speak at all, but Jim Henry was cool as usual.
"Yes, yes, son," he says. "It's all right. You trot right along home afore you catch cold in your freckles." Then, after the youngster'd gone, he turns to me quick. "Open it, Skipper," he orders. "Somethin's happened. Open it."
I opened the envelope. Inside was a sheet of foolscap covered from top to bottom with mighty shaky handwritin'. I read it out loud.
"Captain Zebulon Snow,
"Dear Sir:
"Polite as ever, ain't he?" I says. "He'd been genteel if he was writin' his will."
"Go on!" snaps Jacobs. "Hurry up."
"Dear Sir: When you receive this I shall have left Ostable, it may be forever. I have made a horrible discovery, which has wrecked all my hopes and my life. In accordance with Mr. Jacob's kindly counsel, I recently summoned courage to ask Miss Pendlebury to become my wife.
"Good heavens to Betsy!" I sang out, almost droppin' the letter.
"Go on!" shouts Jacobs. "Don't stop now."
"But he asked her to marry him!" I gasps. "In accordance with your advice—yours! Did you have the cheek to—"