“And is it, father?”
There was a pause.
“Oh, father, how could you?”
“Don’t misjudge me, boy,” said the colonel, sternly. “I have done everything I could to stop it.”
“And—”
“Failed, Fred. It is a strong position for many reasons, and I have been compelled, by my duty to my country, to hold my peace. Rein back.”
It was the officer speaking now, and Fred checked his steed till Samson was nearly abreast of him again, when, after quite a dozen attempts to draw his young master into conversation, Samson muttered to himself, “In the grumps;” and rode on in silence too.