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Rh even sober, having doubtless found little to make him otherwise in his staid life. Yet when David was about he could be quite  lively and would enter into their mild adventures with a fair grace.

Supper was a serious affair at Master Elkins’s. After the blessing had been asked, they set to in a silence that was seldom  broken until the meal was at an end. David, who had experienced too much excitement to  be heartily hungry, was finished before the  rest and thereafter amused himself by kicking Raph’s shins beneath the table, maintaining an innocence of countenance that threw  no light on the squirmings of his cousin who,  in an effort to avoid punishment, called  down a reprimand from his father for his  unseemly antics.

The rest of the evening was spent in conversation, David delivering some messages to his uncle from his father and recounting  the warning given by Monapikot and, in return, listening to a lengthy discourse on the  political affairs of the Colony, much of which  he did not comprehend. It was decided, though, by Master Elkins that David was not  to make the return journey alone, but that  three of the town Indians should accompany