"Yassam, dat may be so, but hit's a putty dangous lie fer you, m'am, ef——"
He looked around the room in a friendly, cautious way and continued in a whisper:
"Especially ef de major wuz ter ever git pizened wid it!"
Cleo's voice dropped suddenly to pleading tones:
"You're not going to suggest such an idea to him?"
Andy looked away coyly and glanced back at her with a smile:
"Not ef yer ax me——"
"Well, I do ask you," she said in tender tones. "A more infamous lie couldn't be told. But if such a suspicion were once roused it would be hard to protect myself against it."
"Oh, I des wants ter help ye, m'am," Andy protested earnestly.
"Then I'm sure you'll never suggest such a thing to the major?—I'm sorry I've treated you so rudely, and spoke to you as I did just now."