"I shan't start yet anyhow," said one fellow, who was lying half
asleep with his head resting on his arm.
"Don't be in a hurry, captain," added the lieutenant.
"Well, have it your own way, we'll wait a while longer," replied the
obsequious commander.
At length however our visitors went straggling away as they had come,
and we, to our great relief, were left alone again.
No one can deny the intrepid bravery of these men, their intelligence
and the bold frankness of their character, free from all that is mean
and sordid. Yet for the moment the extreme roughness of their
manners half inclines one to forget their heroic qualities. Most of
them seem without the least perception of delicacy or propriety,
though among them individuals may be found in whose manners there is
a plain courtesy, while their features bespeak a gallant spirit equal
to any enterprise.
No one was more relieved than Delorier by the departure of the
volunteers; for dinner was getting colder every moment. He spread a
well-whitened buffalo hide upon the grass, placed in the middle the
juicy hump of a fat cow, ranged around it the tin plates and cups,
and then acquainted us that all was ready.
