"It is rather unusual," he said, "to see a woman ride so early; but you have the right idea. Everything begins to wake, life, the air, the day. There is something in the dew of the morning that is a better tonic than any doctor can brew."
"Take care! If you have no confidence in your wares, you must not expect your patients to have."
"Oh, I am a doctor of philosophy, also."
"That is to say," she observed, "if you lose your patients, you will accept their loss without a murmur? Very good. May I ask what you have come so far to study?"
"Nerves."
"Is it possible!"—with a smile as fleet as the wind.
He laughed. This was almost like an American girl. How easy it was to talk to her! He tried again to catch her eye, but failed. Then both looked out over the lake, mutually consenting that a pause should ensue. He did not mind the dark hair at all.
"Do you speak English?" she asked abruptly in that tongue, with a full glance to note the effect.
"English is spoken to some extent in the United States," he answered gravely. He did not evince the least surprise at her fluency.
"Do you write to the humorous papers in your country?"