Joe pondered. "He seems like a good enough young man, but we don't know
a blasted thing about him. I wouldn't want Barbara to get in a mess."
"What did you tell him, Joe?"
"That I am Barbara's father, not her master. I can't tell her who to
marry." He scowled, wondering if he'd done right. Emma laid a comforting
hand on his arm.
"What else _could_ you have told him?"
"Nothing."