Clem's face put it beyond question that at last she was about to make a statement definitely bearing on the history of the past month.

At this moment she was almost pale, and her eyes avoided his.

She stood close to the table, and her right hand rested near the bread-knife; her left held a piece of paper.
'What is it ?' asked Joseph James mildly.

'Go ahead, Clem.' 'You ain't bad-tempered, are you?
You said you wasn't.' 'Not I! Best-tempered feller you could have come across.

Look at me smiling.' His grin was in a measure reassuring, but he had caught sight of the piece of paper in her hand, and eyed it steadily.
'You know you played mother a trick a long time ago,' Clem pursued, 'when you went off an' left that child on her 'ands.' 'Hollo! What about that ?' 'Well, it wouldn't be nothing but fair if someone was to go and play tricks with _you_--just to pay you off in a friendly sort o' way--see ?' Mr.Snowdon still smiled, but dubiously.
'Out with it!' he muttered.