Her grandfather, to whom this outbreak seemed something of an indication of mental disorder, on her part, stared at the child dumbly. Not without some justification for her deductions, Garde thought him quelled. In a spirit of reckless defiance, and likewise to give some vent to her feelings, she suddenly threw her arms about the bedewed kitten, on its pillow, pressed her face against its fur and said to it, fervently:
“Little-Standing-Panther, I love you, and love you and love you!”
Grandfather Donner looked up in alarm. “Tut, tut, my child,” said he, “love is a passion.”
PART II.
CHAPTER I.
A ROVER AND HIS RETINUE.
His only gold was in his hair;
He had no silver hoard;
But steel he had, enow to spare—
In his thews and in his sword!