"I am," said Ted coolly.
"Excuse me. Take a seat. You needn't go, Hallie. Keep your seat, Barrows." The colonel motioned Ted into a chair, and took one himself.
For several minutes he sat blowing clouds of smoke into the air from his cigar, but saying nothing.
Miss Croffut and Lieutenant Barrows continued their conversation about lawn tennis and riding, as if Ted were not there, but the lieutenant observed that Miss Croffut's eyes strayed often toward Ted, and it made him irritable.
"See here, young man," said the colonel, turning suddenly upon Ted in a manner that in another person would indicate that the commandant was very angry. "What do you mean by sending such a message to me?"
"I sent no message to you," said Ted quietly. "I didn't even know your name until your striker mentioned it to me a few minutes ago."
Had Ted looked at the young lady at the other end of the veranda he would have seen an irrepressible smile flit across her features, as she looked at her father.
"That was a facer for dad," she whispered to Lieutenant Barrows, who frowned. "The idea of telling papa that he had never heard of him, the great warrior and Indian fighter, Colonel Croffut."
The colonel stared at Ted with a sort of amazement for a moment, and grunted:
"Well, you're likely to know a great deal more about me before we're through with one another."