"I'm glad to hear it," responded Miss Chris good-humouredly. She had never uttered a harsh word about anybody in her life, but she was a long-suffering woman, and she philosophically accepted the accusation.
Twenty-four hours later the general had a passage at arms with Bernard.
"You can watch the threshing this morning, my boy," he remarked as he sat down to breakfast. "You won't go in to town, I suppose?"
Bernard shook his head.
"I thought of riding in for the mail," he answered; "there's a letter I'm looking for."
The general flushed and put out a preliminary feeler. "How are you going?" he inquired; "not on one of my horses, I hope?"
Eugenia shook her head at Bernard, but he went on recklessly:
"Why, yes, I thought I'd take the gray mare."
The general shook his head until his flabby face grew purple.
"The gray mare!" he thundered. "You mean to take out my gray mare, do you? Well, I'd like to see you, sir. Not a step does the gray mare stir—not a step, sir."