"Oh no, of course not."
"On the contrary, he took my part all he could. Mr. Antis has been a kind friend to me—" Eben's voice failed, and he went quickly out of the room.
"Well, Flora," said Mary Clarke, "I have heard of Job's comforters, but I never saw one before. I should think you would be ashamed of yourself, treating your brother so!"
"What have I done now?"
"When you see he feels so unhappy, I should think you might try to comfort him. Instead of that, you seem anxious to make him feel just as badly as you can, by abusing Mr. Antis and Jeduthun—friends that you know he thinks everything of. I wouldn't have believed it of you."
And Mary in turn departed, leaving Flora alone. She was a very gentle, amiable girl, and Flora had never heard such an outburst from her before. It had the effect of bringing her in some degree to her senses, for she both loved and respected Mary, and she was sensitive to the good opinion of those whom she respected. It was with a much-softened tone and manner that she said as she called Eben and Mary to dinner:
"I have made some tea, for once. I am sure Eben's head aches, though he won't own it, and no wonder. I should like to give that old Mr. Francis a piece of my mind."
"I don't suppose that would do any good," said Eben, trying to smile. "But you must not be too hard on him, Flora. He is a very exact business-man, and the prospect of such a loss is naturally very vexatious."
"How much?" asked Mary.
"A hundred or two dollars, Mr. Antis says. However, it is not certainly lost yet."