The honest fellow, grinning his appreciation of these words, vanished through the door.
“That is my servant, Norfolk Ben,” said Mr. Doyle, turning to Cody and Jack Mainwaring. “I don’t think any one ever had a more faithful one. He has been with us for many years, and is perfectly devoted to my daughters. He comes from Norfolk, in Virginia—hence his name.”
“A good Virginian servant of the old stock is indeed a treasure,” remarked Mainwaring.
“Will you join us at lunch, Colonel Cody, and you, too, Mr. Mainwaring? I want to hear some more about that ranch of yours in Texas, and my girls will be delighted to meet you, Colonel Cody, and listen to some stories about your adventures.”
“I don’t think it will be easy to induce Cody to tell them,” said Jack Mainwaring, smiling. “Somebody else is always the hero of the stories he tells. I have known him for three weeks, but all that I have heard about his adventures has been from other people.”
Both men accepted Mr. Doyle’s invitation and went into the small, stuffy dining room of the hotel with him.
They found there two girls, of about twenty and eighteen years of age respectively, whom they were introduced to by Mr. Doyle. The elder was his daughter May and the younger was Gertrude.
Both were pretty, but the elder was by far the prettier, and Buffalo Bill, wise in such matters, could see at a glance that young Mainwaring was powerfully attracted by her. It was the first time they had met, for he had only made the acquaintance of Mr. Doyle a short time before he introduced Cody to him.
The party sat down to lunch, Norfolk Ben waiting on them, and they were soon in the midst of an animated conversation.
Jack Mainwaring told stories of his life on his ranch in Texas. He was a wealthy young fellow, owning one of the best cattle runs in that State. He was now enjoying a hunting trip in the farther West, and Buffalo Bill, whom he met some time before, had been able to show him some very good sport.