"Oh, Mr. Ripley," she exclaimed, "good morning! You must excuse me. I did not know—"
That she should have had sufficient self-possession to say good morning amazed me. Her whole appearance, in fact, amazed me. There seemed to be something wanting in her manner. I endeavored to get myself into condition.
"You must be surprised," I said, "to see me here. You supposed I was in Europe, but—"
As I spoke I made a couple of steps toward her, but suddenly stopped. One of my coat buttons had caught in the meshes of the hammock. It was confoundedly awkward. I tried to loosen the button, but it was badly entangled. Then I desperately pulled at it to tear it off.
"Oh, don't do that," she said. "Let me unfasten it for you." And taking the threads of the hammock in one of her little hands and the button in the other, she quickly separated them. "I should think buttons would be very inconvenient things—at least, in hammocks," she said smiling. "You see, girls don't have any such trouble."
I could not understand her manner. She seemed to take my being there as a matter of course.
"I must beg a thousand pardons for this—this trespass," I said.
"Trespass!" said she, with a smile. "People don't trespass on their own land—"
"But it is not my land," said I. "It is your father's for the time being. I have no right here whatever. I do not know how to explain, but you must think it very strange to find me here when you supposed I had started for Europe."
"Oh! I knew you had not started for Europe," said she, "because I have seen you working in the grounds—"