After the children's father finished recounting his memories of Lumpy Lloyd, Chief Lee asked the pivotal question.
They were no fools. The father understood why Chief Lee was so concerned about a former neighbor, a man who had been dead for years. His voice trembled as he said, "That's right. Because of that thing on his neck, he never had any friends growing up, let alone a girl willing to marry him. Naturally, he never had any kids."
At this, the father finally dredged up a specific memory. "I was raised by my grandparents. The year before it happened, my wife and I took our two kids back to our hometown to visit them—well, to visit their graves and have a little chat. On our way back, we ran into Lumpy Lloyd. When he saw my two children trailing behind me, he suddenly came right up to me and told me to give him one of my daughters. He said he could raise her to be his wife, and then he'd have someone to give him children."
