He was not sure that the boy had put himself beyond the pale; merely, the boy's actions pointed that way.

If he laid his own suspicions boldly before the girl, and in the end the boy came clean, he would always be haunted by the witless cruelty of the act.
That night in his den he smoked many pipes.

Twice he cleaned the old briar; still there was no improvement.

He poured a pinch of tobacco into his palm and sniffed.

The weed was all right.