“You do not think they will receive me unpleasantly?”
“Oh, no!” I hastened to make up for lost time. “They are peaceful
enough, so long as they are permitted to have their own way. Very
likely they will receive you with much of courtesy and even
hospitality.”
“That is as I thought,” said the Colonel, who has always gone alone
into hostile camps—a method of conciliation that would give most people
pause. “I will reason with them,” he continued, “and I believe I can
bring them to a sensible view of the matter we have to adjust.”