Blast him!" This time Jed made no reply; but he, too, leaned forward and his gaze was fixed upon the hardware dealer's face.

There was an expression upon his own face which, when Phineas saw it, caused the latter to chuckle once more.
"He, he!" he laughed.

"What's the matter, Shavin's?
You look kind of scared about somethin'.

'Tain't possible you've known all along what I've just found out?
I wonder if you have.

Have you ?" Still Jed was silent.