You--"
Colonel Grand held up his hand. David seemed to be gasping for breath.
"That's the very thing I like about you, Jack," said his late host
derisively. "I can always depend upon you to look after the ladies.
They will be absolutely safe while you are with them. There is a
distinct advantage in having a real gentleman about. You see, I can't
always be on hand to--to protect them from such bullies as Thomas
Braddock."
His allusion to Braddock was strikingly impersonal.
"I am making you my first lieutenant--no, my aide-de-camp, Jack. All
you are required to do is to obey orders. Don't run the risk of a
court-martial, my lad. It occurs to me that an uncle of yours has had
an experience of that--but, never mind. Your first duty, sir, is to
convince the ladies that I shall expect them to be in better humor
when I return from the East."
The words came from his lips with biting emphasis; the smooth oily
tone was gone. There was no pretense now; he was showing his fangs.
David could only glare at him, white to the lips. He could not speak.
He could only look the hatred that welled in his heart.
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