Grandma Padgett, indeed, soon put her ban upon the subject of caves
and night-attacks. But she could not prevent the children thinking.
Nor was she able to drive the carriage and at the same time sit in
the wagon when they rode with Zene and stop the flow of recollection
to which they stimulated him. While sward, sky, and trees became
violet-tinted to her through her glasses, and she calmly meditated
and chewed a bit of calamus or a fennel seed, Bobaday and aunt
Corinne huddled at the wagon's mouth, and Zene indulgently harrowed
up their souls with what he heard from a gentleman who had been in
the Mexican war.
"The very gentleman used to visit at your grand-marm's house," said
Zene to Robert, "and your marm always said he was much of a
gentleman," added Zene to aunt Corinne. "Down in the Mexican country
when they didn't fight they stayed in camp, and sometimes they'd go
out and hunt. Man that'd been huntin', come runnin' in one day scared
nigh to death. He said he'd seen the old Bad Man. So this gentleman
and some more of the fine officers, they went to take a look for
themselves. They hunted around a good spell. Most of them gave it up
and went back: all but four.
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