Page:Melville Davisson Post--The Man of Last Resort.djvu/42

18 man. And, just as he had done a thousand times before, the Major declared that the Executive was a “damned rascal” and a “no account youngster,” and that he would not do it, when all the time he knew deep down in his heart that he loved this straight young fellow better than any other thing in the world, and that presently he was going to do exactly what he said he would not do.

The Governor knew this also, for he ran down the steps without stopping to interrupt the amiable flow of the Auditor's depreciatory remarks.

At the depot he found the Chinaman, Bumgarner, waiting with his coat.

That such a primitive Celestial should be saddled with such a name arose entirely from the pious instincts of the Major. It happened that the Virginian was standing in a crowd at the corner near Crawley's Emporium when the Chinaman first appeared, having tramped from the coast. The Major, who was slightly in his cups, called the Chinaman over to the corner, and inquired by what appellation he was known, to which the foreigner responded that