"He will have his bit of fun. There's only one thing wrong about your dear, good father, Johnny; and that is he ain't a sportsman. For a man to live in the Vale and not be a sportsman is like for a man to live by the sea and not care to go fishing. With a place in his heart for a bit of sport, I do believe Ben Bamsey would have been a perfect human. But as that's contrary to nature, no doubt the sport had to be left out." "He is perfect," said Dinah, "and I've often told him so." "He'd never believe it if you did," said Susan; "he's much too good a man to think he's good." "As to that, my dear," answered Joe, "it's only false modesty and silliness to pretend you'm not good, when you know perfectly well you are. If I said I wasn't a good man, for example, it would be merely fishing for compliments; and if Soosie-Toosie said she weren't as good as gold, who'd believe her?" "'Tis easy to be good if you're so busy as Soosie-Toosie and Johnny and a few more," answered Dinah; "but how you can be so amazing good with nothing on your hands, Cousin Joe? I'm sure that's wonderful." "Nothing on my hands? you bad girl! Little you know. And me the mainspring. You ax Susan if I've got nothing on my hands, or Thomas here." Lawrence Maynard was absent, but Mr. Palk took tea with the rest. He had not so far spoken. "You'm the head of the house," he said. "And if my hand have lost its cunning, my head have not--eh, Thomas?" "It have not," admitted Thomas. "Father makes his head help his heels, don't you, father?" asked Soosie-Toosie, following her question with an explosion. "I should hope so; and do, for God's love, go out in the scullery when you feel a sneeze coming, there's a dear! You be scattering the evil germs around us so thick as starlings." "I'm just going," she said, "they'll be done their tea in a minute; then I'll gather the things and get away for the wash-up." Dinah soon departed to help the sufferer; then Joe smoked and bade the others do the like. "'Twill lay Soosie's germs," he said. They discussed Maynard, who had gone to see some cows for a neighbour. "What he don't know about 'em ain't worth knowing," said Mr. Stockman. "A tower of strength the man is going to be." "Is he growing a bit more cheerful?" "If he's not cheerful, there's a reason for it. But he's very sensible, with a head rather old for his shoulders--eh, Thomas?" "Made of sense, I reckon." "And what is his opinion of me, Thomas, if I may ask?" Mr. Palk was always rendered cautious at the hint of personalities. He did not reply immediately, though there was no need to hesitate. But he never replied immediately to any question. "He thinks a great lot of you, master. He holds you to be a very good man indeed."