let it be known that I was not going to give up my seat to any one,
certainly not to one who had no claim to it. So drawing myself up to
my full height--which was nothing to boast of, by the way--I answered
with becoming dignity, "I prefer the back seat, sir."

He then turned to my companion, and said, "Which seat do you prefer?"

"It makes no difference with me, sir," was the modest reply.

A smile passed over the face of the gentleman--a smile which evidently
indicated one of two things; either that he thought my companion
showed her ignorance of the world, in making herself of so little
consequence, and seeming to say, "You may do what you please with me;"
or he thought my reply very old for one of my years. Which was it? Ah,
that was the question. I could not forget that peculiar smile. In
fact, you see I have not forgotten it yet. It seemed to mean
something; but what did it mean? Oh, how I wanted to know exactly
what it meant, and how carefully I watched, to see if I could not find
out.

The matter of seats was soon arranged to the satisfaction of all
parties. The old lady and myself had the back seat, while my companion
took the middle seat. I observed that the above-named gentleman
passenger offered several polite attentions to my companion, while he
did not seem to notice me at all, although I had let him know that I
was a person of so much consequence. This might be accounted for by
the fact that she was seated very near him, while my seat was more
distant, or there might be some other cause for it.

The opinion of a stranger whom I never expected again to meet, was not