out in the mill’ of the night in the mill’ of Tilling. Very shocking thing. What do you say, Major?”
Major Benjy drew himself up to his full height, and put on his hat in order to take it off to Miss Mapp.
“My fren’ Cap’n Puffin,” he said, “is a man of strictly ’stemious habits. Boys together. Very serious thing to call a man of my fren’s character drunk. If you call him drunk, why shouldn’t he call you drunk? Can’t take away man’s character like that.”
“Abso—” began Captain Puffin. Then he stopped and pulled himself together.
“Absolooly,” he said without a hitch.
“Tilling shall hear of this to-morrow,” said Miss Mapp, shivering with rage and sea-mist.
Captain Puffin came a step closer.
“Now I’ll tell you what it is, Miss Mapp,” he said. “If you dare to say that I was drunk, Major and I, my fren’ the Major and I will say you were drunk. Perhaps you think my fren’ the Major’s drunk too. But sure’s I live, I’ll say we were taking lil’ walk in the moonlight and found you trying to post a letter with no ’dress on it, and couldn’t find the slit to put it in. But ’slong as you say nothing, I say nothing. Can’t say fairer than that. Liberal terms. Mutual Protection Society. Your lips sealed, our lips sealed. Strictly private. All trespassers will be prosecuted. By order. Hic!”
Miss Mapp felt that Major Benjy ought instantly to have challenged his ignoble friend to another duel for this insolent suggestion, but he did nothing of the kind, and his silence, which had some awful quality of consent about it, chilled her mind, even as the sea-mist, now thick and cold, made her certain that her nose was turning red. She still boiled with rage, but her mind grew cold with
