“Why, ain't Mr. Beaton with 'em?” asked the old woman. “I thought I heared his voice.”
“Mr. Beaton! Of course he is! And who's Mr. Beaton, anyway?”
“Why, ain't he one of the men in Coonrod's office? I thought I heared—”
“Yes, he is! But who is he? What's he doing round here? Is he makin' up to Christine?”
“I reckon he is. From Mely's talk, she's about crazy over the fellow. Don't you like him, Jacob?”
“I don't know him, or what he is. He hasn't got any manners. Who brought him here? How'd he come to come, in the first place?”
“Mr. Fulkerson brung him, I believe,” said the old woman, patiently.
“Fulkerson!” Dryfoos snorted. “Where's Mrs. Mandel, I should like to know? He brought her, too. Does she go traipsin' off this way every evening?”
“No, she seems to be here pretty regular most o' the time. I don't know how we could ever git along without her, Jacob; she seems to know just what to do, and the girls would be ten times as outbreakin' without her. I hope you ain't thinkin' o' turnin' her off, Jacob?”
Dryfoos did not think it necessary to answer such a question. “It's all Fulkerson, Fulkerson, Fulkerson. It seems to me that Fulkerson about runs this family. He brought Mrs. Mandel, and he brought that Beaton, and he brought that Boston fellow! I guess I give him a dose, though; and I'll learn Fulkerson that he can't have everything his own way. I don't want anybody to help me spend my money. I made it, and I can manage it. I guess Mr. Fulkerson can bear a little watching now. He's been travelling pretty free, and he's got the notion he's driving, maybe. I'm a-going to look after that book a little myself.”