“Find him and take him away from them,” said Steve. “If Leech or Still were in the County I’d find him in an hour; but they’re both in the city—been away a fortnight hatching this thing.”
“All right, I’m with you. But where’ll we look? You say Leech and Still are both away in the city, and you don’t think he’s at either of their places? Where can he be?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out if he’s above ground,” said Steve, “and some day I’ll call Jonadab Leech and Hiram Still to a settling.”
“I’ll tell you, Allen, where you may find him, or, at any rate, find a trace of him. At that new carpet-bagger’s, Mr. Welch’s.”
“Nonsense! Why don’t you look in my office?”
“You may say so; but I’ll tell you you’d better look. You all over here think he’s different from the rest: but I tell you he isn’t. When it comes to these questions, they’re all tarred with the same stick, and a d——d black stick it is.”
Ruth stirred with indignation. She wished she could have sprung up and faced him.
“We won’t discuss that,” said Steve, coldly. “Major Welch certainly differs widely from you and me on all political questions—perhaps on many other questions. But he is a gentleman, and I’ll stake my life on his being ignorant of anything like this. Gentlemen are the same the world over in matters of honor.”
“Well, maybe so—if you think so,” said the other, impressed by Steve’s seriousness. “But I don’t see why you should think he’s so different from all the rest of them. You didn’t use to find one Yankee so much better than another.”