"Great Heavens!" The old gentleman looked inexpressibly shocked.
"Yes--Wickersham."
"That scoundrel!"
"Yes; he is the devil with the women."
Next evening, as the General sat with Stirling among a group, sipping his toddy, some one approached behind him.
Stirling, who had become a great friend of the General's, greeted the newcomer.
"Hello, Ferdy! Come around; let me introduce you to General Keith, Gordon Keith's father."
The General, with a pleasant smile on his face, rose from his chair and turned to greet the newcomer. As he did so he faced Ferdy Wickersham, who bowed coldly. The old gentleman stiffened, put his hand behind his back, and with uplifted head looked him full in the eyes for a second, and then turned his back on him.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Stirling, for declining to recognize any one whom you are good enough to wish to introduce to me, but that man I must decline to recognize. He is not a gentleman."
"I doubt if you know one," said Ferdy, with a shrug, as he strolled away with affected indifference. But a dozen men had seen the cut.