with it?"

"Say I _thought_ they was?" he replied, innocently. "I knew well enough
they was--that is--knew? No, I didn't know, but--"

Aunt Lyddy, with an air of mock resignation, gave up, while Joshua
endeavored to fix, to a hair, the exact extent of his knowledge.

Eph smiled; but he remembered what would have made him pardon, a
thousand times over, the old man's garrulousness. He remembered who
alone had never failed, once a year, to visit a certain prisoner, at the
cost of a long and tiresome journey, and who had written to that
homesick prisoner kind and cheering letters, and had sent him baskets
of simple dainties for holidays.

Susan bustled about, and made a fire of crackling sticks, and began to
roast the oysters in a way that made a most savory smell. She set the
table, and then sat down at the melodeon, while she was waiting, and
sang a hymn--for she was of a musical turn, and was one of the choir.
Then she jumped up, and took out the steaming oysters, and they all sat
down.

"Well, well, well!" said her father; "these be good! I didn't s'pose you
had any very good oysters in your bed, Ephraim. But there, now--I don'
s'pose I ought to have said that; that wasn't very polite; but what I
meant was--I didn't s'pose you had any that was _real_ good--though I
don' know but that I've said about the same thing, now. Well, anyway,
these be splendid; they're full as good as those cohogs we had t'other
night."