The ladies urged her to stay for her poor husband's sake, but she was not to be persuaded, and he was unwilling to remain without her.
"Take some sand with you, then, to bury his hand in, won't you?" said Mrs. Perkins.
"I haven't anything to carry it in," was the ungracious reply.
"Those newspapers."
"I want to read them."
"Well, if we find something to put it in, and get it all ready for you, will you take it in your trunk?"
"Yes, I'll do that."
"I have a good sized paper box which will answer the purpose, I think," said Mary Keith. "I'll get it."
She hastened to the house, returned again in a few moments with the box, and they proceeded to fill it, sifting the sand carefully through their fingers to remove every pebble.
"You are taking a great deal of trouble for me, ladies," the old gentleman remarked.