I wished I was sure it was etiquette to tell him not to worry because there were plenty more in the pantry . By the time he 'd been helped three times to mince pie I gave up feeling bad about the chef . He finished off with the doughnuts , and I sha n't tell how many of them he devoured , because I would not be believed . Most of the boys had to go away soon after dinner . Joseph P. shook hands with me absently and merely said , `` Good afternoon , Miss Porter . '' I did n't think he seemed at all grateful for his dinner , but that did n't worry me because it was for my boys I 'd got it up , and not for dyspeptic millionaires whose digestion had been spoiled by private chefs . And my boys had appreciated it , there was n't any doubt about that . Peter Crockett and Tommy Gray stayed to help me wash the dishes , and we had the jolliest time ever . Afterward we picked the turkey bones . But that night I realized that I was once more a useless , lonely old woman . I cried myself to sleep , and next morning I had n't spunk enough to cook myself a dinner . I dined off some crackers and the remnants of the apple pies , and I was sitting staring at the crumbs when the bell rang . I wiped away my tears and went to the door . Joseph P. Nelson was standing there , and he said , without wasting any words -- it was easy to see how that man managed to get railroads built where nobody else could manage it -- that he had called to see me on a little matter of business . He took just ten minutes to make it clear to me , and when I saw the whole project I was the happiest woman in Carleton or out of it . He said he had never eaten such a Thanksgiving dinner as mine , and that I was the woman he 'd been looking for for years . He said that he had a few business friends who had been brought up on a down-east farm like himself , and never got over their hankering for old-fashioned cookery . `` That is something we ca n't get here , with all our money , '' he said . `` Now , Miss Porter , my nephew tells me that you wish to remain in Carleton , if you can find some way of supporting yourself . I have a proposition to make to you .
These aforesaid friends of mine and I expect to spend most of our time in Carleton for the next few XXXXX .
Carleton Crockett Nelson P. Porter doughnuts minutes night spunk years