Abner was waiting at the landing for him.
"Glad to see yuh, lad. How's everything to home?" he asked.
Of course Darry understood this to mean with regard to himself and his relations with the good woman of the house.
Truth to tell Abner had worried more than a little since parting from the boy, for his wife had shown more than unusual ill temper lately, and he feared that he had possibly done an unwise thing in leaving Darry there to be a constant reminder of the son she had lost.
But the happy look on the boy's countenance eased his mind even before the boy spoke a single word.
"He kin do it, if any boy kin," was what the life saver was saying under his breath.
"All well, and your wife sent this over to you, sir. Here's the mail, too. The postmaster didn't want to give it to me, but Mr. Keeler told him it was all right, and that I belonged with the crew over here."
Unconsciously his tones were full of pride as he made this assertion, and the grocer had evidently done more to please the lad in making that assertion than he would ever know.
But Abner seemed to be staring down at something.
"Seems like as if yuh bed ben a leetle mite keerless, son, with them trousers. Don't strike me thet burn was on 'em yesterday," he remarked.
"It wasn't, Mr. Peake. I got that last night," he said, quickly.
"Doin' what?" went on Abner, who seemed to guess that there was a story back of it all that he ought to hear.
"Putting out the pigsty, that was on fire, sir."
"What's that? Who sot it afire, I'd like to know? Them pigs never has smoked, leastways not yit. Jest tell me the hull bloomin' thing, lad."
To begin at the start Darry had to take up the subject of his encounter on the road, and from that he went on until the whole story had been told, including the visit of Hank Squires.
Abner Peake made no comment until the end had been reached.
Then he smote one hand into the palm of the other, and relieved his feelings in the expressive way one would expect a coast "cracker" to do.
"This sorter thing has got to stop! It's sure the limit wen them varmints set about burnin' a honest man's buildin's up! I'll take the law into my own hands onless somethin' is did soon. P'raps that parson kin manage to rouse up the village, and upset old Dilks. Ef so be it falls through I'm gwine to take a hand, no matter what happens."