him from them during his visits—and also to conceal them from Tinker.
Tinker made it plain what his own preoccupation concerned. Suddenly he slapped his knee. "Well, sir," he said, "the first time I saw you if anybody'd 'a' told me you'd ever be my son-in-law I'd 'a' killed him!"
Thus the two preoccupations had not been so dissimilar in fundamentals as might have been supposed. But when the older man, having thus released his profoundest feeling, turned his head and saw the sensitive face of the younger again grow pallid under this shock, a more genial sentiment began to prevail with both of them. Tinker stretched forth his arm and set his hand upon Laurence's shoulder.
"Now, don't you take that to heart," he said. "My daughter's just the world and all to me, next to her mother, of course; and I expect I'd 'a' been just as grudging whoever it was I had to give her up to. I oughtn't to of said what I just did, even if it is the God's own truth. Anyhow, I didn't feel that way long. When you came to sit at our table I didn't think you knew much, it's true; but I see Babe's right about that's only being the Eastern way you were
