"Hello!" I called.
He stopped abruptly. For an instant we stared at each other; then he grinned broadly.
"Well, I don't know who you are," he ejaculated, "but I want to say it certainly does me good to see you."
[ CHAPTER XIV.
THE RULER OF THE LIGHT COUNTRY.]
However pleased the newcomer was to see me, I had no difficulty in assuring him with equal truth that my feelings matched his. The first surprise of the meeting over, we took him to the living room, where Lua greeted him with dignified courtesy, and we all gathered around to hear his story.
He was, I saw now, not more than twenty years old, rather short—perhaps five feet six or seven inches—and powerfully built, with a shock of tousled red hair and a handsome, rough‑hewn face essentially masculine.
He seemed to be an extraordinarily good‑humored chap, with the ready wit of an Irishman. I liked him at once—I think we all did.
He began, characteristically, near the end rather than the beginning of the events I knew he must have to tell us.