e.
It also left Miss Brown considerably frightened, for until now she had
imagined nothing more serious than the rude admiration which had so
delighted her at first.

But now, who knew but some one else would be ridiculous? Poor little
Miss Brown suffered acutely at the thought of giving pain, and
determined to be more demure than ever.

But alas! even her agitation seemed to make her more charming to her two
remaining lovers.

Had the boys at the saloon comprehended in the least the cause of Miss
Brown's uneasiness, they would have promptly put both Lecomte and Toledo
out of the camp, or out of the world. But to their good-natured,
conceited minds it meant only that she was confused, and unable to
decide, and unlimited betting was done, to be settled upon the
retirement of either of the contestants.

And while patriotic feeling influenced the odds rather in Toledo's
favor, it was fairly admitted that the Frenchman was a formidable rival.

To all the grace of manner, and the knowledge of women that seems to run
in Gallic blood, he was a man of tolerable education and excellent
taste. Besides, Miss Brown was so totally different from French women,
that every development of her character afforded him an entirely new
sensation, and doubled his devotion.

Toledo stood his ground manfully, though the boys considered it a very
bad sign when he stopped drinking, and spent hours in pacing the ground
in front of his hut, with his hands behind him, and his eyes fixed on
the ground.

Finally, when he was seen one day to throw away his faithful old pipe,
heavy betters hastened to "hedge" as well as they might.

Besides, as one of the boys truthfully observed, "He couldn't begin to
wag a jaw along with that Frenchman."

But, like many other young men, he could talk quite eloquently with his
eyes, and as the language of the eyes is always direct, and purely
grammatical, Miss Brown understood everything they said, and, to her
great horror, once or twice barely escaped talking back.

The poor little teacher was about to make the whole matter a subject of
special prayer, when a knock at the door startled her.

She answered it, and beheld the homely features of the judge.

"I just come in to talk a little matter that's been botherin' me some
time. Ye'll pardon me ef I talk a little plain?" said he.

"Certainly," replied the teacher, wondering if he, too, had joined her
persecutors.

"Thank ye," said the judge, looking r