He tossed his hat on the table beside her, and sat down on the other side of the stove. “Well, I must say the place has been well looked after. I don't believe Jackson himself could have kept it in better shape. When was the last you heard from him?”
“I hope,” said his mother, gravely, “you've been lookin' after your end at Boston, too.”
“Well, not as well as you have here, mother,” said Jeff, candidly. “Has Cynthy told you?”
“I guess she expected you to tell me, if there was anything.”
“There's a lot; but I guess I needn't go over it all. I've been playing the devil.”
“Jeff!”
“Yes, I have. I've been going with another girl down there, one the kind you wanted me to make up to, and I went so far I—well, I made love to her; and then I thought it over, and found out I didn't really care for her, and I had to tell her so, and then I came up to tell Cynthy. That's about the size of it. What do you think of it?”
“D' you tell Cynthy?”
“Yes, I told her.”
“What 'd she say?”