Please forgive me." He took her hand, which was swallowed up in his big one.

His eyes were moist, also.
"Lord love you, dearie," he said, "there's nothin' to forgive.

I realized that I must have seemed like a mean, stingy old scamp.

Yet I didn't mean to be.

I only wanted to look into this thing just a little.
Just as a matter of business, you know.