Allan would have had
them."

The frankness of the man was completely convincing. Ailsa expanded
under the warm kindliness of his tone in a manner which surprised even
herself. Hitherto this man had never appealed to her. She knew her
husband's regard for him. She had always seen in him an astute man of
business, with a strength of purpose and capacity always to be relied
upon. But the sentiments he now expressed were surprising, and came as
a welcome display such as she would never have expected.

"You are good to us, Murray," she said gratefully. "Maybe it won't
sound gracious, but Allan always told me I could rely on you at all
times. You've never given me reason to doubt it. But I hadn't thought
to hear you talk that way. I'm real glad we had this talk. I'm real
glad I came. I don't just know how to thank you."

"Don't you try, ma'am," was the man's dry response. "Guess I've yet
got to show you I can make my talk good before you need to think
thanks. And, anyway, maybe the thanks'll need to come from me before
we're through."

He picked up the letter on the desk before him, and glanced at it.
Then he flung it aside. Ailsa Mowbray waited for him to go on. But as
he gave no further sign she was forced to a question.

"I don't understand," she said at last. "How do you mean?"

Murray laughed. It was the easy, ready laugh the woman was accustomed
to.

"There's some things that aren't easy to put into words. Not even to a
mother." His eyes had become serious again. "There's some things that
always make a feller feel foolish--when you put 'em into words."

The mother's thought darted at once to the only possible interpretation
of his preamble. Her woman's instinct was alert. She waited.

"Maybe it's not the time to talk of these things, ma'am. But--but it's
mighty difficult to figger such time when it comes along. I've got a
letter here makes me want to holler 'help.' It's from a feller we all
know, and most of us like well enough. For me, I'm scared of him.
Scared to death. He's the only man I've ever felt that way towards in
my life."

His words were accompanied by another laugh so ringing that Ailsa
Mowbray was forced to a smile at his care-free way of stating his fears.

"Your terror's most alarming," she said comfortably. "Will you tell me
of it?"

"Sure." Murray picked up the letter again and stared at it. "Have you
got any feller fixed in your mind you're yearning for you