But he's so absolutely
different--so natural, so free from that atrocious habit of never being
able to disassociate self from the little, graceful courtesies young men
show women. He's wholesome, free from ego, from that intolerable air of
proprietorship, of masculine superiority and cocksureness that seems so
inseparable from the young men in her set."
"I agree with you, my dear. Many a time I have itched to grasp the
jaw-bone of an ass and spoil a couple of dozen of those young pups with
their story-book notions of life."
"Now, that Don Mike," she continued critically, "is thoughtful of and
very deferential to those to whom deference is due, which characteristic,
coupled with the fact that he is, in a certain sense, a most pathetic
figure at this time, is bound to make a profound impression on any girl
of ready sympathy. And pity is akin to love."
"I see," Parker nodded sagely. "Then you think he'll go down to defeat
with his mouth shut?"
"I'm certain of it, John."
"On the other hand, if he should succeed in sending me down to defeat,
thereby regaining his lost place in the sun, he might--er--"
"Let us be practical, John. Let us call a spade a spade. If he regains
the Rancho Palomar, his thoughts will inevitably turn to the subject of a
mistress for that old hacienda. He has pride of race, I tell you, and he
would be less than human if he could contemplate himself as the last of
that race.
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