He sat down on the roots of a tree. It grew on the edge of a bluff over the river, a survival of that fraternity of trees which had covered the whole section but a few generations back.
"Mighty good luck to be young, Dick," the "Governor" had said, and died, calling his life on the whole satisfactory, on account of the good times he had had, and the work that he knew he had done as it should be done.
Hennion thought he would go and tell Camilla about the Boulevard. He caught a car and went back to the centre of the town.
When he came to the Champney house late in the evening, Alcott Aidee was there, though about to leave. It struck Hennion that Aidee's being about to leave was not an absolute compensation for his being there, but he did not have time to examine the impression. Camilla had been reading Charlie Carroll's sinister paragraphs on "a certain admired instigator of crime." She dashed into the subject as soon as Aidee was gone.
"He says he doesn't care about it," she cried, "but I do!"
Camilla paused, either from stress of feeling or inability altogether to say why. Hennion had seen the paragraphs, but had not thought about them.
"Well, if you mean it's not just, Milly, I don't suppose Carroll ever bothers about that. There's a good deal of give and take in politics. Aidee has given it pretty sharply himself. I dare say he knows how to take it."
"It's wicked!" cried Camilla passionately.
"Well--he needn't have called Wood names--that's true."
"If you're going to laugh about it, you can go away!"
"'Instigator of crime,' isn't so strong as 'thief,' is it? It's a pity they can't get along without blackguarding each other, but probably they can't."
Camilla turned away. Her indignation was too genuine, and sobered him.
"My dear girl! I don't suppose Wood was properly called a 'thief' nor Aidee 'an instigator of crime.' Probably Aidee believes what he says. Probably Carroll hasn't the remotest idea what he believes. What of it? I've been tramping the wilderness of Port Argent all day and seeing visions, Milly, and I'd rather not quarrel. Did Aidee say he was going to do anything in particular?"
"To see Mr. Hicks to-night. Of course he'll go to comfort someone that nobody else will," cried Camilla breathlessly, "and of course you'll say he'd be wiser to keep away and nurse his reputation, because people will talk. Perhaps you think it proves he's an anarchist, and makes bombs."