He gazed calmly, however, though sternly, at the stranger, who appeared
nothing daunted by the expression in the eyes of the traveller. His air
was that of quiet indifference, bordering on contempt, as if he knew his
duties, or his man, and was resolved upon the course he was appointed to
pursue. When men meet thus, if they are persons of even ordinary
intelligence, the instincts are quick to conceive and act, and the youth
was now more assured than ever, that the contest awaited him which
should try his strength. This called up all his resources, and we may
infer that he possessed them in large degree, from his quiet forbearance
and deliberation, even when he became fully sensible of the insolence of
the person with whom he felt about to grapple.
As yet, however, judging from other appearances, there was no violence
meditated by the stranger. He was simply insolent, and he was in the
way. He carried no weapons--none which met the sight, at least, and
there was nothing in his personal appearance calculated to occasion
apprehension.
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