When Ben Wade came in after supper dad always got him to tell some of those terrible stories.

You know what perfectly terrible stories Ben can tell.

Well, dad had to hear the worst ones.

And poor me, I didn't want to listen, but I couldn't resist.

Ben _can_ tell stories.
And oh, what he's lived through! "I got the idea it wasn't Jack's absence so much that made dad sit by the hour before the fire, staring at the coals, sighing, and looking so God-forsaken.