"No, sir."
"Nor any of your family?"
He could not resist the temptation to say this, but his mother did not seem to hear him--she was on her knees, breaking sticks into the stove.
"Sit up and warm yourself, sir. My son raked out the fire, but these sticks will burn presently. You are here on business, I suppose?"
"Yes, I'm here on business."
Anna thought of the auction and waited for the stranger to speak of it. When he did not do so she said, "Travelers come from England to buy sheep and ponies, but they don't often come in the winter, sir."
Still he did not speak (he was thinking of Elin and looking round for any trace of her), and rising from the stove Anna said:
"But you'll be hungry after your long ride--what can I give you to eat?"
"Anything at all--anything you have ready."
"I'm afraid I have nothing ready--that is to say, nothing that is good enough for the like of you, sir."