\"Hisownidea——entirely。And，byJove!heprovestoberight。Youcan\'tdoanythingherewithoutauniform。Andtheytellmehe\'sgoteverythingcorrect，downtothecrestonthebuttons。\"
Theywalkedoninsilenceforafewmoments，PendletonretainingacertainrigidityofstepandbearingwhichPaulhadcometorecognizeasindicatingsomeuneasinessormentaldisturbanceonhispart。Hathawayhadnointentionofprecipitatingtheconfidenceofhiscompanion。Perhapsexperiencehadtoldhimitwouldcomesoonenough。Sohespokecarelesslyofhimself。Howtheneedofayear\'srelaxationandchangehadbroughthimabroad，hisjourneyings，and，finally，howhehadbeenadvisedbyhisGermanphysiciantospendafewweeksatStrudleBadpreparatorytothevoyagehome。Yethewasperfectlyawarethatthecolonelfromtimetotimecastafurtiveglanceathisface。\"AndYOU，\"hesaidinconclusion——\"whendoyouintendtoreturntoCalifornia?\"
Thecolonelhesitatedslightly。\"IshallremaininEuropeuntilMissArguelloissettled——Imean，\"headdedhurriedly，\"untilshehas——ahem!——completedhereducationinforeignwaysandcustoms。
Yousee，Hathaway，Ihaveconstitutedmyself，afteracertainfashion，Imaysay——still，herguardian。Iamanoldman，withneitherkithnorkinmyself，sir——I\'malittletooold-fashionedfortheboysoverthere\"——withavaguegesturetowardsthewest，which，however，toldPaulhownearitstillwastohim。\"Butthen，amongtheoldfogyshere——blankitall!——itisn\'tnoticed。SoI
lookafterher，yousee，orrathermakemyselfresponsibleforhergenerally——although，ofcourse，shehasotherfriendsandassociates，youunderstand，moreofherownageandtastes。\"