The English was execrable but the meaning quite plain. Gavin answered as abruptly:
"I am listening to your music."
The gypsy, utterly lost in his attempts to continue in a tongue of which he knew so little, stammered for an instant and then asked curtly:
"Do you speak German, sir?"
"Possibly as well as you do; I have been three years in that excellent country."
"Please to tell me who you are, then, and why you come to his Excellency's house?"
Gavin laughed at the impertinence of it. Speaking in fluent German, he said:
"I might very well put that question to you. Shall I say, then, that I am not here to answer your questions. Come, we had better be frank with each other. I may be able to help you."
This was a new idea to the gypsy and one that caused him some perplexity. A little reflection convinced him that the stranger was right.
"Very well," he said, "we will talk about it. Come to my tent and Djala shall make us coffee. Why not be friends? Yes, we might help each other, as you say. Let us talk first and then we can quarrel."