The Mountain Girl by Emma Payne Erskine Chapter 5 Page 17

find any coffee. I ought to have brought some; I’ll go fetch some if you’ll eat now. Your dinner’ll get cold.”

He showed her how he had made tea and was in no need of coffee. “We’ll throw this out and make fresh,” he said gayly. “Then you must have a cup with me. Why, you have enough to eat here for three people!” She seemed weary and sad, and he determined to probe far enough to elicit some confidence, but the more fluent he became, the more effectively she withdrew from him.

“See here,” he said at last, “sit by the table with me, and I will eat to your heart’s content. I’ll prepare you a cup of tea as I do my own, and then I want you to drink it. Come.”

She yielded. His way of saying