There he found his cousin Ned still seated in the phaeton, and
slowly driving round the circle in front of the hall door. The squire
succeeded in gaining such command over his own gait and countenance
that his cousin divined nothing of the truth as he clambered up into
his seat. But he soon showed his temper. "What the devil have you got
the reins in this way for?"
"The reins are all right," said Ned.
"No they ain't;--they're all wrong." And then he drove down the
avenue to Spoon Hall as quickly as he could make the horses trot.
"Did you see her?" said Ned, as soon as they were beyond the gates.
"See your grandmother."
"Do you mean to say that I'm not to ask?"
"There's nothing I hate so much as a fellow that's always asking
questions," said Tom Spooner. "There are some men so d----d
thick-headed that they never know when they ought to hold their
tongue."
For a minute or two Ned bore the reproof in silence, and then he
spoke. "If you are unhappy, Tom, I can bear a good deal; but don't
overdo it,--unless you want me to leave you.
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