ely convict myself of ignorance of such matters.
Whether Mr. Arbuton was ever aware of them, I am not sure: as a man he
was, of course, obtuse and blind; but then, on the other hand, he had
seen far more of the world than Mrs. Ellison, and she may have been
clear as day to him. Probably, though, he did not detect any design; he
could not have conceived of such a thing in a person with whom he had
been so irregularly made acquainted, and to whom he felt himself so
hopelessly superior. A film of ice such as in autumn you find casing the
still pools early in the frosty mornings had gathered upon his manner
over night; but it thawed under the greetings of the others, and he
jumped actively out of the vehicle to offer the ladies their choice of
seats. When all was arranged he found himself at Mrs. Ellison's side,
for Kitty had somewhat eagerly climbed to the front seat with the
colonel. In these circumstances it was pure zeal that sustained Mrs.
Ellison in the flattering constancy with which she babbled on to Mr.
Arbuton and refrained from openly resenting Kitty's contumacy.

As the wagon began to ascend the hill, the road was so rough that the
springs smote together with pitiless jolts, and the ladies uttered some
irrepressible moans. "Never mind, my dear," said the colonel, turning
about to his wife, "we've got all the English there is at Ha-Ha Bay, any
way." Whereupon the driver gave him a wink of sudden liking and
good-fellowship. At the same time his tongue was loosed, and he began to
talk of himself. "You see my dog, how he leaps at the horse's nose? He
is a moose-dog, and keeps himself in practice of catching the moose by
the nose. You ought to come in the hunting season. I could furnish you
with Indians and everything you need to hunt with. I am a dealer in wild
beasts, you know, and I must keep prepared to take them."

"Wild beasts?"

"Yes, for Barnum and the other showmen. I deal in deer, wolf, bear,
beaver, moose, cariboo, wild-cat, link--"

"What?"

"Link--link! You say deer for deers, and link for lynx, don't you?"

"Certainly," answered the unblushing colonel. "Are there many link about
here?"

"Not many, and they are a very expensive animal. I have been shamefully
treated in a link that I have sold to a Boston showman. It was a
difficult beast to take; bit my Indian awfully; and Mr. Doolittle would
not give the price he promised."

"What an outrage!"

"Yes, but it was not so bad as it might have bee