Mrs. Jackson, thus encouraged, chattered on.
"He looks a perfect angel, but my dear—the language that boy can use! He's the most original cusser west of the Mississippi. They say he had to cross the line because he killed three men in the States—brutes who wiped out his father, mother and sisters—a feud of some kind. The sheriff was a friend of theirs, so he had to hit the trail for Canada or swing. But that's just a story. It can't be true, or he wouldn't be busting horses for the Force now—that's his job."
"Oh, I hope it's true! I hope it's true!" sighed Mrs. MacFarlane. "And now do point out the new C.O. You know, I haven't met him yet. Mac's jealous—you've no idea! Of course, he only arrived yesterday, but still——"
"Do you see that very tall, straight man, joking with your husband? Well, that's him!"
"Is that him? " 'Dandy Jack' was instantly forgotten. "Oh, but—but, my dear! I simply must meet him right away. Really, Mrs. Jackson, never——"
Mrs. MacFarlane, completely carried away, concentrated her attention on the new C.O. and was instantly brought to her figurative knees.
It was not merely his superb physique and its effect in brilliant uniform which gave her the feeling that she was in the presence of one unconquerable—a master of men, a builder of empires. It was his face—the face of a man still in his prime, but not to be measured in years. He might have been thirty or thirty-five, but was probably just on the right side of forty. To a strong regularity of feature, years of hardship and exposure had given an intense bronze and a network of stern clean lines, lending the face great character and nobility without adding much to its age. The man's smile, she thought, would have melted stone; but he did not smile often. Otherwise, there was more than a hint of sadness in his serenity. Once he glanced in her direction and she thrilled under eyes that were like the frosty blue of mountains seen from a great distance.
Till that moment, Mrs. MacFarlane thought, she had never set eyes upon a Man.
Mrs. Jackson was babbling away. She silenced her with an impatient gesture.
"But—tell me about him," she insisted. "He must be awfully interesting."