"Whoa! I have been trying to overtake you, Hawes. What did I tell you? Didn't I say that the country was gone? I'll swear I don't know what we are coming to when a man is shot down in the road like that."
"General, did you overtake me to ride to town with me?"
"I did; yes, sir."
"Then you mustn't talk that way."
"I beg your pardon, sir. Perhaps I should not have expressed myself in that manner. Let us ride along and discuss it quietly. Tell me what you know."
"It were better, General——"
"Never mind about your grammar and your bookish phrasing. Tell me what led up to it."
"Must I tell you that your daughter is——"
"By G——, sir, what do you mean?"
"You needn't turn on me, sir."