Her uncle was right. He was not of their kind
of people, and it was well she had discovered this before permitting
herself to develop a livelier feeling of friendship for him. It was
true he possessed certain manly virtues, but his crudities by far
outweighed these.
The Colonel's voice broke in upon her bitter reflections. "That
fellow Cardigan is a hard nut to crack--I'll say that for him." He
had crossed the clearing to her side and was addressing her with his
customary air of expansiveness. "I think, my dear, you had better go
back into the caboose, away from the prying eyes of these rough
fellows. I'm sorry you came, Shirley. I'll never forgive myself for
bringing you. If I had thought--but how could I know that scoundrel
was coming here to raise a disturbance? And only last night he was at
our house for dinner!"
"That's just what makes it so terrible, Uncle Seth," she quavered.
"It IS hard to believe that a man of young Cardigan's evident
intelligence and advantages could be such a boor, Shirley. However,
I, for one, am not surprised. You will recall that I warned you he
might be his father's son. The best course to pursue now is to forget
that you have ever met the fellow."
"I wonder what could have occurred to make such a madman of him?" the
girl queried wonderingly.
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