DESSALINES' GARDEN PARTY
force just under the soft palate and bursts at the same time through nose and mouth; the laugh of a negro, a child. Leyden smiled, glanced at Virginia, laughed outright, then clapped the Haytian violently upon the shoulder.
"Tiens camarade!" his tongue whirled in a short blast of Creole, then joined Dessalines in a light laugh.
The Misses O'Connor had drawn Virginia aside.
"Did ever you see the like of that!" whispered Miss Kathleen. She was a pretty girl in an aggressively healthy way, and richly endowed with hair, color, and teeth. "Is he not the darling?"
"But fancy meeting him of a dark night!" cried Miss O'Connor, in a low voice. She was prettier than her sister and even more vivacious, if that were possible. "I would die of fright entirely!"
"Is he a cannibal, do you think?" whispered the elder, staring at Dessalines with wide, fascinated eyes.
"He's very good-looking, as one gets used to him," declared her sister. "And what an elegant voice!"
"Saints, here he's coming to speak to us!" cried Miss Kathleen. "Now, what ever in, the world shall I say to him! Don't leave me, girls."
Dessalines drew near, smiling. Leyden had just complimented him upon the ingenuity of his reception and the Haytian was as pleased as a dog who has just been petted for a well-performed trick. As a matter of fact the French valet, Jules, had devised the details of the fête, but with such dexterity that Dessalines was quite convinced that all was the result of his own happy inspiration.
"You must pardon me, ladies, for my lack of chivalry,
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