As they talked, Maggie had taken up her father's pipe that had lain on a
shelf near, and emptying its contents she took from a pouch hanging on the
wall a piece of tobacco and a jack-knife, and, with a practised hand, she
refilled the pipe afresh, then laid it gently on a little shelf within easy
reach of the cosy seat that her father occupied during the warm summer
evenings. It was done so quietly that it was almost unnoticed, but Dexie
saw it and understood the kindly act. She wondered if she loved her own
father enough to perform such an act for him. She felt glad that her father
did not use tobacco, for she would not care to be outdone by these Prince
Edward Island girls; yet in her case she felt that even lovingkindness had
its limit, and that she would have to draw the line _this_ side of the
tobacco pipe.
Maggie felt, rather than saw, that Dexie was watching her, and as she laid
the pipe in readiness for her father's evening smoke she looked up and said
with a smile:
"You never saw a girl do that before, confess now? Well, I don't care for
it, but father likes to find his pipe all ready for him, so I try to
overcome my dislike, and his tobacco-smoke helps to keep my flowers free
from vermin, you know.
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