It was a bold shot at the truth, and his look satisfied me that I was not very wide of the mark.

To accuse a gray-haired old man of attempting to win the affections of a young girl would seem absurd enough.

But if you had ever seen Benoni, you would understand that he was anything but old, save for his snowy locks.

Many a boy might envy the strange activity of his thin limbs, the bloom and freshness of his eager face, and the fire of his eyes.
He was impulsive, too; for instead of laughing at the absurdity of the thing, or at what should have been its absurdity, as a more accomplished villain would have done, he was palpably angry.

He looked quickly at me and moved savagely, so that I drew back, and it was not till some moments later that it occurred to him that he ought to seem amused.
"How ridiculous!" he cried at last, mastering his anger.