"Have ye done wid yer gallivantin'?" queried he, the instant I made my appearance. "Now, thin, be shquare; which is the purtyest gurl?"
"How do you know there were two, sir?"
"Inshtinct," he retorted, shamelessly. "I knew by the peculiar feelin' av the cords av me arums. I say, what a thunderin' lot o' snarly bushes old Barnyard kapes about his windys!"
"What! you were up there?" I cried, in astonishment.
"Worrunt I," he retorted, complacently. "An' I wasn't the only one!"
"Carnes!"
"Och, take off yer mittens an' sit down," he said, grinning offensively at my mighty efforts to draw off a pair of tight and moist kid gloves. "Warn't I up there, an' I could ave told ye all about the purty gals mysilf, an' what sort av blarney ye gave till em both, if it had not been fer the murtherin' baste of a shnake as got inter the scrubbery ahead av me."
I threw aside the damp gloves, and seated myself directly in front of him.
"Now, talk business," I said, impatiently. "It's getting late, and there's a good deal to be said."