"Indeed!" said Mr. Downing, who did not at any time like to be considered mistaken. "Suppose you explain."
So sweet-voiced Jean explained all about digging the dandelions to pay the rent, about Mr. Black's giving them the key at the end of the week, and about all the lovely times they had had and were still hoping to have in their precious cottage before giving it up for the winter.
Mr. Downing, personally, did not like Mr. Black. He had a poor opinion of the older man's business ability, and perhaps a somewhat exalted one of his own. He considered Mr. Black old-fashioned and far too easy-going; he felt that parish affairs were more likely to flourish in the hands of a younger, shrewder and more modern person—he had an idea that he was that person. At any rate, now that Mr. Black was out of town, Mr. Downing was glad of an opportunity to display his own superior shrewdness. He would show the vestry a thing
