Eph's position in the Winkle household was as peculiar as his
personality. Nominally he was a hired servant, but, in fact, from his
own point of view at least, he was Mr. Winkle's private secretary and
confidential adviser. He had been on the place "ever sence old Fan was a
yearlin'," which was a long while, indeed; and had come to regard
himself as indispensable. The Winkles treated him as one of the family,
and he reciprocated in truly familiar ways. He sat at the table with
them, helped entertain their guests, and often accompanied them to
church. In regulating matters on the farm Mr. Winkle proposed, but Eph
invariably disposed, in a diplomatic way, of course; and, although his
judgment might be based on false logic, the result was generally
successful and satisfactory.
With all his good qualities and her attachment to him, however, Mrs.
Winkle was not sure that Eph's moral status was quite sound, and she was
inclined to discourage Johnnie's association with him. As a matter of
fact she had overheard Johnnie utter several bad words, of which Eph was
certainly the prime source. But a mother's solicitude was of little
avail when compared with Eph's Delphian wisdom. Johnnie would steal away
to join Eph in the field at every chance, and the information he
acquired at these secret seances, was varied and valuable.
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