A black-silk handkerchief, wrapped
loosely about his neck, completed the general outline; and the _tout
ensemble_ indicated one of those dashing blades, so frequently to be
encountered in the southern country, who, despising the humdrum monotony
of regular life, are ready for adventure--lads of the turf, the
muster-ground, the general affray--the men who can whip their weight in
wild-cats--whose general rule it is to knock down and drag out.
Though startling at first to both father and daughter, the manner of the
intruder was such as to forbid any further alarm than was incidental to
his first abrupt appearance. His conduct was respectful and
distant--closely observant of the proprieties in his address, and so
studiously guarded as to satisfy them, at the very outset, that nothing
improper was intended. Still, his entrance without any intimation was
sufficiently objectionable to occasion a hasty demand from Colonel
Colleton as to the meaning of his intrusion.
"None, sir, is intended, which may not be atoned for," was the reply.
Pages:
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767