“No,” Croyden responded: “I have always lived at a Club.”
“Well, Mose and his wife are of the old times—you can trust them, thoroughly, but there is one thing you’ll have to remember, sir: they are nothing but overgrown children, and you’ll have to discipline them accordingly. They don’t know what it is to be impertinent, sir; they have their faults, but they are always respectful.”
“Can I rely on them to do the buying?”
“I think so, sir, the Colonel did, I know. If you wish, I’ll send you a list of the various stores, and all you need do is to pay the bills. Is there anything else I can do now, sir?”
“Nothing,” said Croyden. “And thank you very much for all you have done.”
“How about your baggage—can I send it out? No trouble, sir, I assure you, no trouble. I’ll just give your checks to the drayman, as I pass. By the way, sir, you’ll want the telephone in, of course. I’ll notify the Company at once. And you needn’t fear to speak to your neighbors; they will take it as it’s meant, sir. The next on the left is Major Borden’s, and this, on the right, is Captain Tilghman’s, and across the way is Captain Lashiel’s, and Captain Carrington’s, and the house yonder, with the huge oaks in front, is Major Markoe’s.”
“Sort of a military settlement,” smiled Croyden.
“Yes, sir—some of them earned their title in 54 the war, and some of them in the militia and some just inherited it from their pas. Sort of handed down in the family, sir. The men will call on you, promptly, too. I shouldn’t wonder some of them will be over this evening.”
Croyden thought instantly of the girl he had seen coming out of the Borden place, and who had directed him to Clarendon.
“Would it be safe to speak to the good-looking girls, too—those who are my neighbors?” he asked, with a sly smile.