Besides, he was not in the mood to use much tact.

His nerves were raw; the shock he had got had left him savage and physically tired.

For all that, the thing could not be put off.
He said nothing until breakfast was over, and then, asking Helen to come with him, went on to the veranda.

The sun was hot, the sky clear, and thin steam drifted across the drenched plain.

Had the storm come without the hail a few weeks sooner, it would have saved his crop; but now the vivifying moisture seemed to mock him.