"Would you send all of the baskets?"

"Oh, yes, all."

"All at once?"

"To his father? Oh, no--by no means. Think of the shock. No--one at a
time; break it to him by degrees."

"Would that have that effect, father?"

"Yes, my daughter. Remember, you are young and elastic, but he is old.
To send him the whole at once might well be more than he could bear.
But mitigated--one basket at a time, with restful intervals between,
he would be used to it by the time he got all of him. And sending him
in three ships is safer anyway. On account of wrecks and storms."

"I don't like the idea, father. If I were his father it would be
dreadful to have him coming in that--in that--"

"On the installment plan," suggested Hawkins, gravely, and proud of being
able to help.

"Yes--dreadful to have him coming in that incoherent way. There would be
the strain of suspense upon me all the time. To have so depressing a
thing as a funeral impending, delayed, waiting, unaccomplished--"

"Oh, no, my child," said the earl reassuringly, "there would be nothing
of that kind; so old a gentleman could not endure a long-drawn suspense