As if in answer to the question, he drove directly to the harness shop instead of to the tannery house. Ephraim greeted them from within with a cheery hail, and hobbled out and stood between the wheels of the buggy.
“That bridle bust again?” he inquired.
“Er—Ephraim,” said Jethro, “how long since you b'en away from Coniston—how long?”
Ephraim reflected.
“I went to Harwich with Moses before that bad spell I had in March,” he answered.
Cynthia smiled from pure happiness, for she began to see the drift of things now.
“H-how long since you've b'en in foreign parts?” said Jethro.
“'Sixty-five,” answered Ephraim, with astonishing promptness.
“Er—like to go to Washington with us to-morrow like to go to Washington?”
Ephraim gasped, even as Cynthia had.