.

Whew!" He drew a hand across his forehead.

Jed did not speak.

After a moment the captain went on.
"Well," he said, "when she got home, and after he'd gone, I got Maud to sit on my knee, same as she's done ever since she was a little girl, and she and I had a talk.

I kind of led up to the subject, as you might say, and by and by we--well, we talked it out pretty straight.