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Show 80 ***** The masterful strains of the harpsichord soothed a hidden agitation now that the hour was getting late and Lathrop and Thomas had not yet returned. Joseph who was bored with reading, turned to his mother. "Is Hyrum one o the King's knights?" he asked. "If it were Sam asking me the question, I might think it a joke," intimated mother. "It's not a joke--I really want to know," Joseph assured her. Samuel was avoiding his mother's eyes, but he couldn't keep a smile off his face. "No, he isn't," Hannah answered the question directly. "But Hyrum doesn't like to spend money for fines!" insisted Joseph. "He doesn't like to spend money at all," interjected Samuel, feigning a defense of Joseph. "It's not like the old days, Joseph, when blood or merit determined knighthood. These days, there's no real honor attached and most men, including Hyrum, prefer paying fines." Mother gave him the final answer. "Art thou certain?" Joseph was still wondering. When he looked to Samuel for moral support, Samuel |