"I found her with her nose in the basket the first thing."
"Be quiet, sir!" said the father sternly, and Georgie obediently subsided,
while Dexie could hardly repress a giggle.
"Let me help you to another piece, Plaisted," said Mr. Sherwood. "What! not
any more? It is not often we get such good shad in an inland town. Halifax
is the place for fine shad! In the season, when the catch is fair, you can
get your pick for a song almost, but here, I expect, their scarcity makes
them of more value."
"Yes," replied Dexie, "they are rather dear, _dear shad_," and she looked
intently at her plate, well knowing how Plaisted was glaring at her. "Yes,"
she added, "I call them dear shad when one has to pick over such a quantity
of bones before getting a satisfactory mouthful, don't you, Mr. Plaisted?"
But Mr. Plaisted laid down his knife and fork, and returned her look with
interest.
"I fear you are not making a dinner at all, Mr. Plaisted," Mrs. Sherwood
put in. "You do not seem to care for shad."
"No! I detest them, though I was not aware of the fact till to-day," he
replied.
"They are not cooked to your liking, I fear! I wish, Dexie, you had looked
after them a little better.
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