"I haven't been bad.

He NEVER shut me up before!" The schoolmistress was standing by the center table in the sitting room when Captain Cy entered.
"Good evenin'," he said politely.

"Won't you sit down ?" But Miss Dawes paid no attention to trivialities.

She seemed much agitated.
"Cap'n Whittaker," she began, "I just heard something that--" The captain interrupted her.
"Excuse me," he said, "but I think we'll pull down the curtains and have a little light on the subject.

It gets dark early now, especially of a gray day like this one." He drew the shades at the windows and lit the lamp on the table.