group as if they were firing upon him
from ambush, hemmed, looked at John, and said:

"Why,--eh--who; son?--Why,--eh--to--to his mother, sir; yes, sir."

"Ah, Brother March, a mother's the best of teachers, and Sister March
one of the most unselfish of mothers!" said Garnet, avoiding Ravenel's
glance.

The Judge expanded. "Sir, she's too unselfish, I admit it, sir."

"And, yet, Brother March, I reckon John gets right smart schooling from
you."

"Ah! no, sir. We're only schoolmates together, sir--in the school of
Nature, sir. You know, Mr. Ravenel, all these things about us here are a
sort of books, sir."

Ravenel smiled and answered very slowly, "Ye-es, sir. Very good reading;
worth thirty cents an acre simply as literature."

Thirty cents was really so high a price that the fat stranger gave a
burst of laughter, but Garnet--"It'll soon be worth thirty dollars an
acre, now we've got a good government. Brother March, we'd like to see
that superb view of yours from the old field on to the ridge."

Ravenel stayed behind with the Judge. John went as guide.

"Judge," Ravenel said, as soon as they were alone, "how about John? I
believe in your school of nature a little. Solitude for principles,
society for character, somebody says. Now, my school was men, and hence
the ruin you see----"

"Mr. Ravenel, sir! I see no ruin; I----"

"Don't you? Well, then, the ruin you don't see."

"Oh, sir, you speak in irony! I see a character----"

"Yes "--the speaker dug idly in the sand--"all character and no
principles. But you don't want John to be all principles and no
character? He ought to be going to school, Judge." The father dropped
his eyes in pain, but the young man spoke on. "Going to school is a sort
of first lesson in citizenship, isn't it?--'specially if it's a free
school. Maybe I'm wrong, but I wish Dixie was full of good, strong free
schools."

"You're not wrong, Mr. Ravenel! You're eminently right, sir."

Mr. Ravenel only smiled, was silent for a while, and then said, "But
even if it were--I had an impression that you thought you'd sort o'
promised John to Rosemont?"

The Judge straightened up, distressed. "Mr. Ravenel, I have! I have,
sir! It's true; it's true!"

"I don't think you did, Judge, you only expressed an intention."

But the Judge waived away the distinction with a gesture.

"Judge," said the young man, slowly and gently, "wouldn't you probably
be sending John to Rosemont if Rosemont wer