“Oh, but you must,” insisted Mrs. Winthrop, who always warmly seconded any proffer of hospitality made by her husband. “Fletcher will dine with us, of course. We can have a little dinner served here in our rooms. Write a note to Mr. Forbes, Carey.”
The marked difference in type of her three guests as they entered the sitting room that night struck Mrs. Winthrop forcibly. Joe, lean and brown, with laughing eyes, was the typical frontiersman; Fletcher, quiet and substantial looking, with his air of culture and ease and his modulated voice, was the type of a city man; David––“What a man he is!” she was forced to admit as 216 he stood, head uplifted in the white glare under the chandelier, the brilliant light shining upon his dark hair, and his eyes glowing like stars. His lithe figure, perfect in poise and balance, of virile strength that was toil-proof, wore the look of the outdoor life. His smile banished everything that was ordinary from his face and transmuted it into a glowing personality. His eyes, serious with that insight of the observer who knows what is going on without and within, were clear and steady.
The table was laid for six in the sitting room, the flowers and candles giving it a homelike look.
As Mrs. Winthrop listened to the conversation between her husband and David she was forced to admit that the young candidate for governor was a man of mark.
“I never knew a man without good birth to have such perfect breeding,” she thought. “He really appears as well as Fletcher, and, well, of course, he has more temperament. If he could have been born on a different plane,” thinking of her long line of Virginia ancestors. 217
She had ceded a great deal to her husband’s and Carey’s democracy, and reserved many an unfavorable criticism of their friends and their friends’ ways with a tactfulness that had blinded their eyes to her true feelings. Yet David knew instinctively her standpoint; she partly suspected that he knew, and the knowledge did not disturb her; she intuitively gauged his pride, and welcomed it, for a suitor of the Fletcher Wilder station of life was more to her liking.
Carey led David away from her father’s political discourse, and encouraged him to give reminiscences of old days. Joe told a few inimitable western stories, and before the cozy little meal was finished Mrs. Winthrop, though against her will, was feeling the compelling force of David’s winning sweetness. The sound of a distant band hurried them from the table to the balcony.
“They’ve certainly got a fair showing of floating banners and transformations,” said Joe.
As the procession came nearer the face of the hardy ranchman flushed crimson and his eyes flashed dangerously. He made a quick motion 218 as if to obstruct David’s vision, but the young candidate had already seen. He stood as if at bay, his face pale, his eyes riveted on those floating banners which bore in flaming letters the inscriptions:
“The father of David Dunne died in state prison!”