"I remember perfectly."
She was quiet for a moment, then she threw back her head and laughed that rare laugh of hers.
"You might let me into the joke."
"It would n't mean anything to you. I have a lot of private jokes that are for my own consumption."
"Your way of laughing is adorable. I hope to hear more of it. In the Asolando you repulsed me in a manner that won my admiration, but I venture to say now that, if you roam these pastures, I am the grass beneath your feet; and if yonder tuneful water be sacred to you, I sit beside the brook to learn its song."
"You talk well, sir, but from your tone I fear you can't forget that we met first in the Asolando. That day of my life is past, and I am by no means what you might call an Asolandad. I don't seem to impress you with that fact. I 'm a human being, not to be picked like a red apple, or trampled upon like grass, or listened to as though I were a foolish little brook. I 'm greatly given to the highway, and I prefer macadam. I like asphalt pavements, too, for the matter of that. I should love a motor, but lacking the coin I pedal a bicycle. My wheel lies down there in the bushes. You see, Mr. Chimney Man, I am a plain-spoken person and have no intention of deceiving you. My name was Francesca for one day only. It may interest you to know that my real name is Hezekiah."
"Hezekiah!"
I must have shouted it; she seemed startled by my violence.
"You have pronounced it correctly," she remarked.
"Then you are Cecilia's sister and Miss Hollister's niece."