“Pardon me,” he said. “Tell me if I annoy you, but it hurts my eyes to read on the train, I have seen the country no end of times and I can’t sleep in the daytime. That leaves me nothing to do but watch my neighbors; and I have been watching you till I could not keep down my curiosity any longer.”
Scott was glad to have some one to talk to and he liked the old man’s manner. Moreover, he felt rather curious to know what had made the other man curious.
“I suppose I am rather curious looking,” Scott laughed.
“No, no,” protested the old gentleman, “that is a very good pun, but it is not at all what I meant.”
“I did not mean it either,” said Scott, “I shall be very glad of your company, especially if you have seen the country so often.”
“Well,” said the old gentleman, hastening to satisfy his curiosity, “I have been watching you stare out of that window for almost a whole day now, and I simply could not wait any longer to learn what you were hunting for.”
“I am afraid it will be horribly disappointing to you,” Scott smiled, “but I am only looking at the country.”
“Looking at the country,” the old man echoed, “all day long.” He seemed not only disappointed but also a little incredulous.
“Why, yes,” Scott said, “you see it is all new to me.”
“I don’t see what there is in this country that a man would want to look at for a whole day,” the old man insisted.