amiliar. Some of them
are quiet and never speak unless addressed; their simplicity is
remarkable; Lew Wetzel and your brother Jonathan, when they are not
fighting Indians, are examples. On the other hand, some of them are
boisterous and if they get anything to drink they will make trouble
for you. Why, I went to a party one night after I had been here only
a few weeks and they played a game in which every man in the place
kissed me."

"Gracious! Please tell me when any such games are likely to be
proposed and I'll stay home," said Betty.

"I have learned to get along very well by simply making the best of
it," continued Lydia. "And to tell the truth, I have learned to
respect these rugged fellows. They are uncouth; they have no
manners, but their hearts are honest and true, and that is of much
greater importance in frontiersmen than the little attentions and
courtesies upon which women are apt to lay too much stress."

"I think you speak sensibly and I shall try and be more reasonable
hereafter. But, to return to the man who spoiled my ride. He, at
least, is no frontiersman, notwithstanding his gun and his buckskin
suit. He is an educated man. His manner and accent showed that. Then
he looked at me so differently. I know it was that soldier from Fort
Pitt."

"Mr. Clarke? Why, of course!" exclaimed Lydia, clapping her hands in
glee. "How stupid of me!"

"You seem to be amused," said Betty, frowning.

"Oh, Betty, it is such a good joke."

"Is it? I fail to see it."

"But I can. I am very much amused. You see, I heard Mr. Clarke say,
after papa told him there were lots of pretty girls here, that he
usually succeeded in finding those things out and without any
assistance. And the very first day he has met you and made you
angry. It is delightful."

"Lyde, I never knew you could be so horrid."

"It is evident that Mr. Clarke is not only discerning, but not
backward in expressing his thoughts. Betty, I see a romance."

"Don't be ridiculous," retorted Betty, with an angry blush. "Of
course, he had a right to stop me, and perhaps he did me a good turn
by keeping me inside the clearing, though I cannot imagine why he
hid behind the bushes. But he might have been polite. He made me
angry. He was so cool and--and--"

"I see," interrupted Lydia, teasingly. "He failed to recognize your
importance."

"Nonsense, Lydia. I hope you do not think I am a silly little fool.
It is only that I have not been accustomed to th