“This is what he meant you to do, Buzz, you duffer.  I said good-bye to twenty-two of my friends this way the day I set sail from old Heidelberg,” and as he spoke, that great and beautiful and exalted Gouverneur Faulkner did bend his head to mine and give to me the correct comrade salute of my own country on first one of my cheeks and then upon the other.

“I thank you, your Excellency,” I murmured with gratitude.  I wonder what that Russian Count Estzkerwitch or Mr. Peter Scudder or Lord Leigholm on those Scotch moors, would have thought to hear Roberta, Marquise of Grez and Bye, express such gratitude for two small pecks upon her cheek delivered in America.

“Yes, sir, it’s mighty pretty to look at but I reckon the kid had better stow the habit before he is introduced to Jeff Whitworth and Miles Menefee and the rest of the bunch,” said that Mr. Buzz as he left off wiping from his cheek with the back of his hand the kiss I had put there, and administered to me another embrace on my shoulders with his long arm.  “Besides, youngster, there are girls in Hayesville,” he added with a grin that again was reflected on my face without my will and which did entirely take away my anger and embarrassment at his repulse.

“Girls!  Girls!” exploded my Uncle, the General Robert.  “The female young generally known as girls are about as much use to humanity as a bunch of pin feathers tied with a pink ribbon would be in the place of the household feather duster that the Lord lets them grow into after they reach their years of discretion.  Robert has no time to waste with the unfledged.  Don’t even suggest it to him, Clendenning.  And now you can take him around to my house and tell Kizzie to begin filling you both up while I wait for a moment to go over these papers with the Governor.  And both of you avoid the female young, for we’ve work for you; mind you, work and no gallivanting.  Now go!  Depart!”

“The old boy is a forty-two centimeter gun that fires at the mention of the lovely sex and doesn’t stop until the ammunition gives out,” said Mr. Buzz Clendenning as he slid into the seat of his slim gray racer beside me and started from the curb on high without a single kick of the engine.  “I’d like to wish a nice girl, whom he couldn’t shake off, onto him for about a week and watch him squirm along to surrender.  Wait until you see Sue Tomlinson get hold of him down on the street some day.  He shuts his eyes and just fires away at her while she purrs at him, and it is a sight for the gods.  Sue’s father died and left her with her invalid mother and not enough money to invite in the auctioneer, but the General took some old accounts of the Doctor’s, collected and invested them and made up plenty of money for Sue’s grubstake, though he goes around three blocks to get past her.  Sue adores him and approaches him from all sides, but has never made a landing yet.  Say, you’ll like Sue.  She is pretty enough to eat, but don’t try to bite.  It’s no use.”