Jerrem shrugged his shoulders, while Eve, at once assuming an injured
air for such an unmerited attack, said, "Really, Joan, I don't know
what you mean. Old Poll Potter has just been telling us that Adam came
flying and fuming up her way, wanting to know if she'd seen us, and
then, when she said where we'd gone to, he used the most dreadful
language to her--I'm sure I don't know for what reason. He chose to go
out without me this morning."

"But that was 'bout business," said Joan.

"Oh, business!" repeated Eve. "Business is a very convenient word when
you don't want to tell a person what your real errand is. Not that I
want to pry into Adam's secrets--far from it. He's quite welcome to
keep what he likes from me, only I'd rather he wouldn't tell me half
things. I like to know all or none."

Joan looked mystified, and Jerrem, seeing she did not know what to say,
came to the rescue. "I'm sure I'm very vexed if I've been the cause of
anything o' this, Eve," he said humbly.

"You needn't be at all vexed: it's nothing at all to do with you. You
asked me to go, and I said yes: if I hadn't wanted to go I should have
said no. Any one would think I'd committed a crime, instead of taking a
simple walk, with no other fault than not happening to return home at
the very same minute that it suited Adam to come back at."

"But how is it he's a seed you if you haven't a seed he?" said Joan,
fairly puzzled by this game of cross-purposes. "He came home all right
'nuf, and then went off to see whereabouts he could find 'ee to; and
'bout quarter'n hour after back he comes in a reg'lar pelt, and says,