He furnished a pretext, and you could see by the sound of his voice that he didn't think much of the pretext, and was vexed with Parker for getting in ahead with a fictitious ailing client.

Rev.Mr.Twichell followed, and said he had to go now because he must take the midnight train for Boston.

Boston was the first place that occurred to him, I suppose.
It was only a quarter to eleven when they began to distribute pretexts.
At ten minutes to eleven all those people were out of the house.

When nobody was left but George and me I was cheerful--I had no compunctions of conscience, no griefs of any kind.

But George was beyond speech, because he held the honor and credit of the family above his own, and he was ashamed that this smirch had been put upon it.