Richard, miserable as he was, remained calm. "Well," said he, "I don't
know about her being horrible. Frank is silent on that point; but she is
wild enough--a wild Indian, in fact."

"Indian? Indian? Good God--a red nigger!" cried General Armour
harshly, starting to his feet.

"An Indian? a wild Indian?" Mrs. Armour whispered faintly, as she
dropped into a chair.

"And she'll be here in two or three days," fluttered Marion hysterically.

Meanwhile Richard had hastily picked up the Times. "She is due here the
day after to-morrow," he said deliberately. "Frank is as decisive as he
is rash. Well, it's a melancholy tit-for-tat."

"What do you mean by tit-for-tat?" cried his father angrily.

"Oh, I mean that--that we tried to hasten Julia's marriage--with the
other fellow, and he is giving us one in return; and you will all agree
that it's a pretty permanent one."

The old soldier recovered himself, and was beside his wife in an instant.
He took her hand. "Don't fret about it, wife," he said; "it's an ugly
business, but we must put up with it. The boy was out of his head. We
are old, now, my dear, but there was a time when we should have resented
such a thing as much as Frank--though not in the same fashion, perhaps--
not in the same fashion." The old man pressed his lips hard to keep down
his emotion.