The Great Shadow and Other Napoleonic Tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
page 30 of 167 (17%)
page 30 of 167 (17%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
She looked at me as if she had forgotten my existence.
"I would give a year of my life to meet such a man," said she. "But that is what living in the country means. One never sees anybody but just those who are fit for nothing better." I do not know that she meant to hurt me, though she was never very backward at that; but whatever her intention, her words seemed to strike straight upon a naked nerve. "Very well, Cousin Edie," I said, trying to speak calmly, "that puts the cap on it. I'll take the bounty in Berwick to-night." "What, Jack! you be a soldier!" "Yes, if you think that every man that bides in the country must be a coward." "Oh, you'd look so handsome in a red coat, Jack, and it improves you vastly when you are in a temper. I wish your eyes would always flash like that, for it looks so nice and manly. But I am sure that you are joking about the soldiering." "I'll let you see if I am joking." Then and there I set off running over the moor, until I burst into the kitchen where my mother and father were sitting on either side of the ingle. "Mother," I cried, "I'm off for a soldier!" |
|