Cinder Path Tales

A VIRGINIA JUMPER 135 first moment I set eyes onmy visitor that it was Richard Spotswood Fairfaxhimself. He was not at all the monstrosity Ihad painted him; in fact, he was a mighty good-look­ ing fellow. He was a little above average height, with a dark oval face, brown hair, and a wide smile that "wud timpt aman to borry a dollar," as Paddy once said. His tailor knew his business, though his suit of brown tweed fitted a trifle more loosely than our Northern style would have permitted. He also wore a lowroll-collar, that showed a firm, round neck to advantage. He smiled when he entered, andsank into a chair by the side of my desk with a sigh of content and another smile. He was in no hurry to speak, and as I learned after was never in a hurry to do anything. He looked me over a moment with his handsome sleepy blue eyes, and then spoke in that melodious drawl which is taught nowhere else but in " ole Virginny." I do not remember how he introduced the subject, forI was too much taken with his voice to notice. I cannot begin to describe it, or the easy way in which the words followed each other, divorced from all such aggressive letters as r, g, and t. He told me he wished to be examined, and assigned some branchof sport towhich he could give his attention; in effect, just