"I should like to have you near me."
"In order to blow out my brains, if you think proper to do so, eh?"
"That is possible; but come, notwithstanding."
"That would not be fair, General; I have honestly kept to my bargain. It is not my fault if, instead of quietly remaining here, you think proper to roam about the country at the risk of something happening."
"Then your advice would be that I should remain here?" the general said to him, with a searching glance.
"I have no advice to give you, General; I am neither a soldier nor an officer, and your affairs do not concern me. I tell you my opinion, that is all."
"But you are a wood ranger?" he continued, after a moment's reflection.
"Yes, General, and nothing else."
"In that case, you will make a famous scout."
"You want to make a second bargain with me, I think."