“By gum!” said the colonel below his breath. “I wonder if she knows! Women don’t like weakness, I’m afraid. Nothing that’s been injured appeals—not really. Girls like to imagine demigods. And that poor boy’s breaking his heart for her, by gum!”
Meanwhile, Virginia turned with Daniel, and they came toward the veranda. The colonel rose and descended the steps.
“Dan,” he said in a hoarse voice, holding out his hand, “if there’s anything I can do——”
Daniel shook his head, the muscles of his white face twitching a little from weariness and pain.
“Nothing at all, Colonel, except—to feel for us!”
“Come and sit with us on the piazza,” suggested Virginia. “Can’t you, Dan?”
He shook his head.
“I’ve got to go on to the office, and then over—to the jail. I was passing—I had to stop to say ‘howdy,’ as Plato would express it. Mother’s been ill in bed since yesterday. She wanted me to thank you both for the flowers and for your messages.”
“Flowers and messages are mighty poor substitutes for deeds,” rejoined the colonel bluntly. “You know I’ll go bail for Leigh, if you wish it.”
“Mr. Payson did that at once, thank you. We had Leigh out to see mother, but we couldn’t keep reporters away from him, and we thought it best for him to go back to jail for the present. You see, he wants to go to Fanchon, to express his championship and all that. It’s a hard situation, colonel, any way we can fix it. Leigh’s been in a state of collapse, too—lost his nerve at first.”