"'Davidson!' says I. 'DAVIDSON? Not young Allie Davidson?'

"'That's him,' says he. 'And he's the blankety blankest meanest low-down
cub on earth. There! I feel some better. Give me another drink to take
the taste of him out of my mouth.'

"'But young Davidson's gone to Boston,' I says. 'Went this morning.'

"'That be hanged!' says Ben. 'All I know is that I got a despatch from
him at Newport on Monday afternoon, telling me to have the yacht abreast
this town at twelve o'clock to-night, 'cause he was coming off to her
then in his launch with a friend. Friend!' And he laughed and winked his
starboard eye.

"I didn't say much, being too busy thinking, but Ben went on telling
about other cruises with 'friends.' Oh, a steam-yacht can be a
first-class imitation of hell if the right imp owns her. Henry got
speaking of one time down along the Maine coast.

"'But,' says I, referring to what he was telling, 'if she was such a
nice girl and come from such nice folks, how--'

"'How do I know?' says he. 'Promises to marry and such kind of lies, I
s'pose. And the plain fact is that he's really engaged to marry a swell
girl in Newport.'

"He told me her name and a lot more about her. I tried to remember the
most of it, but my head was whirling--and not from cherry rum,
either. All I could think was: 'Obed, it's up to you! You've got to do
something.'