It is to be seen in those who sit in high places, in clergy,
actors off the boards, magistrates, and people behind shop windows
demonstrating things to street crowds. Bob's first thought was of
amusement that this elaborate unconsciousness of his lone presence
should be worth while; his second a realization that his presence or the
presence of any one else had nothing to do with it. He wondered, as we
all wonder at times, whether these men acted any differently when alone
and in utter privacy, whether they brushed their teeth and bathed with
all the dignity of the public man.
The smaller, but evidently more important of these men, wore a complete
camping costume. His hat was very wide and stiff of brim and had a woven
band of horsehair; his neckerchief was very red and worn bib fashion in
the way Bob had come to believe that no one ever wore a neckerchief save
in Western plays and the illustrations of Western stories; his shirt was
of thick blue flannel, thrown wide open at the throat; his belt was very
wide and of carved leather; his breeches were of khaki, but bagged above
and fitted close below the knee into the most marvellous laced boots,
with leather flaps, belt lacings, and rows of hobnails with which to
make tracks.
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