The Project Gutenberg EBook of Soldiers of Fortune, by Richard Harding Davis

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Title: Soldiers of Fortune

Author: Richard Harding Davis

Posting Date: September 27, 2008 [EBook #403]
Release Date: January, 1996

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE ***

Produced by Charles Keller. HTML version by Al Haines.

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE

BY

RICHARD HARDING DAVIS

TO
IRENE AND DANA GIBSON

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE

I

"It is so good of you to come early," said Mrs. Porter, as Alice
Langham entered the drawing-room. "I want to ask a favor of you. I'm
sure you won't mind. I would ask one of the debutantes, except that
they're always so cross if one puts them next to men they don't know
and who can't help them, and so I thought I'd just ask you, you're so
good-natured. You don't mind, do you?"

"I mind being called good-natured," said Miss Langham, smiling. "Mind
what, Mrs. Porter?" she asked.

"He is a friend of George's," Mrs. Porter explained, vaguely. "He's a
cowboy. It seems he was very civil to George when he was out there
shooting in New Mexico, or Old Mexico, I don't remember which. He took
George to his hut and gave him things to shoot, and all that, and now
he is in New York with a letter of introduction. It's just like
George. He may be a most impossible sort of man, but, as I said to Mr.
Porter, the people I've asked can't complain, because I don't know
anything more about him than they do. He called to-day when I was out
and left his card and George's letter of introduction, and as a man had
failed me for to-night, I just thought I would kill two birds with one
stone, and ask him to fill his place, and he's here. And, oh, yes,"
Mrs. Porter added, "I'm going to put him next to you, do you mind?"

"Unless he wears leather leggings and long spurs I shall mind very
much," said Miss Langham.

"Well, that's very nice of you," purred Mrs. Porter, as she moved away.
"He may not be so bad, after all; and I'll put Reginald King on your
other side, shall I?" she asked, pausing and glancing back.

The look on Miss Langham's face, which