Abel raised a concerned eyebrow as the man's demeanor quickly changed. Quite suddenly, he felt he was being accused of something sinister. [color=bisque][i]Best clear this up before it leads to problems,[/i][/color] he thought to himself with mild annoyance. 

"[color=bisque]Ah, so you know him,[/color]" Abel smiled with a hint of relief in his voice, "[color=bisque]I merely passed a young lad by that name on my way here. He was playing amidst some rocks-- said he was looking for a flower to give to his mother.[/color]" He motioned back in the direction he came from, tipping his hat further upward and dabbing a bit of sweat with his sleeve. He hoped that this motion of freely giving the old man a good look at his face would remove any lingering suspicions.