“Then Pluto will fetch it right over,” and she glanced at one of the black men, who showed his teeth for an instant and bent his head in assent.
“Don’t see why Judge Clarkson was ever named Gideon,” protested the girl. “It’s a hard, harsh sort of name, and he’s as––as––”
“Soft?” queried the judge’s sister, with an accompaniment of easy laughter. The youngest of the two oarsmen grinned. Pluto maintained a well-bred indifference.
“No!” and the girl flung a handful of willow leaves over the lavender lawn. “He is––well––just about right, the judge is; so gentle, so considerate, so altogether magnificent in his language. I’ve adored him as far back as when he fought the duel with the Northern man who reflected some way on our customs; that was starting a war for his state all alone, before anyone else thought of it, I reckon. I must have been very little then, for I just recollect how he used to let me look in his pockets for candy, and I was awfully afraid of the pistols I thought he must carry there to shoot people with,” and she smiled at the childish fancy. “I tell you, Aunt Sajane, if my papa had lived there’s just one man I’d like him to favor, and that’s our judge. But he didn’t, did he?”
“No, he didn’t,” said Aunt Sajane. “The McVeigh men were all dark, down to Kenneth, and he gets his fairness from your ma.” Then she added, kindly, “the judge will be very proud of your admiration.”
“Hope he’ll care enough about it to hurry right along after us. He does put in a powerful lot of his time in Charleston and Columbia lately,” and the tone was one of childish complaint.
“Why, honey, how you suppose our soldier boys would be provided for unless some of the representative men devote their time to the work? It’s a consolation to me that Gideon is needed for civil service just now, for if he wasn’t he wouldn’t be so near home as he is; he’d be somewhere North with a regiment, and I reckon that wouldn’t suit you any better.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” agreed the girl, “though I do like a man who will fight, of course. Any girl does.”
“Oh, Honey!”