It was that evening, after his fruitless call at Cap'n Abe's store,
that the young man met his father and had it out. Lawford came back to
Tapp Point in the motor boat. As he walked up from the dock there was
a sudden eruption of voices from the house, a door banged, and the
Taffy King began exploding verbal fireworks as he crunched the gravel
under foot.
"I'll show him! Young upstart! Settin' the women on me! Ha! Thinks
he can do as he pleases forever and ever, amen! I'll show him!"
Just then he came face to face with "the young upstart." I. Tapp
seized his son's arm with a vicious if puny grasp and yelled:
"What d'you mean by it?"
"Mean by what, dad?" asked the boy with that calmness that always
irritated I. Tapp.
"Settin' your ma and the girls on me? They all lit on me at once. All
crying together some foolishness about your marrying this Grayling girl
and putting the family into society."
"Into society?" murmured Lawford. "I--I don't get you."
"You know what they're after," cried the candy manufacturer.
Pages:
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290