He does not wish to
'butt in too much.' Now, there is rudimentary delicacy in that. And what
a humorous, forceful figure of speech! Some butting animal--a goat, I
seem to see, preferably--forcing its way into a group or closed circle
of persons."
His gleeful analysis of the phrase had such evident charm for him that
Mount Dunstan broke into a shout of laughter, even as G. Selden had done
at the adroit mention of Weber & Fields.
"Shall we ride over together to see him this morning? An hour with G.
Selden, surrounded by the atmosphere of Reuben S. Vanderpoel, would be a
cheering thing," he said.
"It would," Mr. Penzance answered. "Let us go by all means. We
should not, I suppose," with keen delight, "be 'butting in' upon Lady
Anstruthers too early?" He was quite enraptured with his own aptness.
"Like G. Selden, I should not like to 'butt in,'" he added.
The scent and warmth and glow of a glorious morning filled the hour.
Combining themselves with a certain normal human gaiety which surrounded
the mere thought of G. Selden, they were good things for Mount Dunstan.
Life was strong and young in him, and he had laughed a big young laugh,
which had, perhaps tended to the waking in him of the feeling he was
suddenly conscious of--that a six-mile ride over a white, tree-dappled,
sunlit road would be pleasant enough, and, after all, if at the end of
the gallop one came again upon that other in whom life was strong and
young, and bloomed on rose-cheek and was the far fire in the blue deeps
of lovely eyes, and the slim straightness of the fair body, why would
it not be, in a way, all to the good? He had thought of her on more than
one day, and felt that he wanted to see her again.
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