"It seems to me that I did make some remarks that I never learned at my mother's knee," returned the other laughing. "And I'm exceedingly obliged for the invitation, as there doesn't seem to be a hotel here, and I am but a degree south of starvation."
"Red or black?" asked the host, with a quick glance at his guest.
The other caught the allusion. "I haven't followed the deal," he replied, "but I'll chance it on the red."
Somehow he felt instantly at home and at ease; it was a quality that Red Saunders dispersed wherever he went.
"There you are, sir," said Red, forwarding a plate full of juicy meat. "The ladies will supply the decorations."
"Do you like rice as a vegetable, sir?" inquired Miss Mattie.
"No—he doesn't," interrupted Red. "He likes it as an animal—never saw anyone who looked less like a vegetable than our friend," The young man's laugh rang out above the others.
Poor Miss Mattie was confused. "It's too bad of you, Will, to put such a meaning on my words," she said.
"The strange part of it is," spoke the young man, seeing an opportunity for a joke, and to deal courteously with his entertainers at the same time. "The peculiar fact is, that my name is Lettis."
"Lettuce?" cried Red. "Mattie, I apologise—he is a vegetable."