"I'd like to have that hoss of his," said the elder Leffingwell.
Leffingwell's wife, a powerful woman, as large as her husband, and with a pleasant face, gave Dick a large hand and a friendly grasp.
"Don't you be bashful about sayin' so," exclaimed Leffingwell heartily, "'cause I don't think I could keep up more'n a half hour longer."
"Shut up, Seth," said Mrs. Leffingwell, genially, "you'll make the young stranger think you're plum' foolish, which won't be wide of the mark either."
For a time the two masculine human beings ate and drank with so much vigor that there was no time for talk. Leffingwell was the first to break silence.
"I'm grateful," said Dick falling into the spirit of it, "but what pains me, Mrs. Leffingwell, is the fact that Mr. Leffingwell will only nibble at your food.