"All alone, eh?"
"Yes; but Ransom will be around soon—my brother."
The eyes of the tramp glittered. He seemed to delight in reading the fresh young face before him.
"Nobody at home, eh?" he grunted. "Mebbe I'd better go in and rest a bit.
Any objections?"
"Yes. If you are hungry I'll bring you food out here."
It was a pleasant day, and the sun was warm without being hot, a rare enjoyable day in June.
It seemed to the girl that there could be no excuse for a stout man like the one before her tramping and begging through the country.
"Why do you not work?" she said.
"I wasn't born that way," and he chuckled unpleasantly.
The girl hurried into the house.