I shook my head sadly.
"I do not know," said I.
I thought that this would make trouble, and it did.
"Do you mean to say that you have left that old man alone down there?"
"I mean to say nothing," returned I, "until you speak to me more properly."
I found that I had said the right thing. You can't always be too subservient to a young woman, especially the woman who knows how you love her. She'll turn and rend you when you least expect it.
She spoke more humbly now:
"I only meant to ask where Uncle is, Mr. Jones."
"I haven't the least idea," said I. "We waited for him on the shore and in the woods. Then we thought he had returned to the house, and we made for that. When we arrived there——"
"Yes, I know," said she. "Zalee did it."