Presently she lifted her eyes, which, despite her gravity, had not entirely lost their previous mirthfulness, and said:
“But you Americans—in your rich and prosperous country, with your large lands and your great harvests—you must know all about farming.”
“Never was in a dairy in my life,” said Hoffman gravely. “I'm from the city of New York, where the cows give swill milk, and are kept in cellars.”
Her eyebrows contracted prettily in an effort to understand. Then she apparently gave it up, and said with a slanting glint of mischief in her eyes:
“Then you come here like the other Americans in hope to see the Grand Duke and Duchess and the Princesses?”
“No. The fact is I almost tumbled into a lot of 'em—standing like wax figures—the other side of the park lodge, the other day—and got away as soon as I could. I think I prefer the cows.”
Her head was slightly turned away. He had to content himself with looking down upon the strong feet in their serviceable but smartly buckled shoes that uplifted her upright figure as she moved beside him.
“Of course,” he added with boyish but unmistakable courtesy, “if it's part of your show to trot out the family, why I'm in that, too. I dare say you could make them interesting.”
“But why,” she said with her head still slightly turned away toward a figure—a sturdy-looking woman, which, for the first time, Hoffman perceived was walking in a line with them as the chasseur had done—“why did you come here at all?”
“The first time was a fool accident,” he returned frankly. “I was making a short cut through what I thought was a public park. The second time was because I had been rude to a Police Inspector whom I found going through my things, but who apologized—as I suppose—by getting me an invitation from the Grand Duke to come here, and I thought it only the square thing to both of 'em to accept it. But I'm mighty glad I came; I wouldn't have missed YOU for a thousand dollars. You see I haven't struck anyone I cared to talk to since.” Here he suddenly remarked that she hadn't looked at him, and that the delicate whiteness of her neck was quite suffused with pink, and stopped instantly. Presently he said quite easily: