"I should like to have it always hot enough to wear muslin dresses.
Come, sit down. Evan put these seats here."
But Diana continued standing.
"Did you hear that woman scolding because he don't stay here and give up his army life?"
"She takes her own view of it," said Diana.
"Do you think he ought to give up everything to take care of his grandfather?"
"I daresay his grandfather likes to have him do as he is doing."
"But it must be awfully hard, mustn't it, for them to have him so far away, and fighting the Indians?"
"Is he fighting the Indians?" Diana asked quietly; though she made the words quiet, she knew, by sheer force of necessity. But quiet they were; slow, and showing no eagerness; while her pulse had made one mad jump, and then seemed to stand still.
"O, the Indians are always making trouble, you know, on the frontier;
that's what our men are there for, to watch them. I didn't mean that
Evan was fighting just at this minute; but he might be, any minute.
Shouldn't you feel bad if he was your brother?"
"Mrs. Reverdy doesn't seem to be uneasy."