THE MAN UNDERNEATH
The man was thinking and growing. What an infinite pleasure a foolish double dahlia must take in reverting to its simple primitive type in a wild, neglected garden. My double and triple petalled Willett was going back to type very fast. I hankered frightfully to see the working out of the drama, for I knew matters must be getting unhealthy for Colonel Briggs. I wrote to Tom a little nervously. I said—
"Go slow, my son. I see the ferment working in you. By the time Silas (give him a shake for me) by the time Silas and the clear atmosphere of the prairie have worked you clear of your legal trappings, you'll be on the trail with a gun. Don't hurry, learn to shoot, and for choice take a shot-gun; it requires an education to use what you have now learnt to call 'a gun.' If you are sure that your friend of 'Cow Creek' was in the wrong—and it should be easy to find out—kill him first and explain why afterwards. And if he is popular, explain it by a wire when you are well in the offing."
93
