Adele, had only grasped the fact that Rose had come to their house in
fine clothes, alone with a man, in a broken-down vehicle, and was moved
to easy mirth and righteous wonder. The young man, Emile, had agreed
with her, with the mental reservation that the guest was pretty, and
must eventually fall in love with him. They both, however, welcomed her
with a trained politeness and a superficial attention that, while the
indifference of her own countrymen in the wheat-field was still fresh in
her recollection, struck her with grateful contrast; the major's quiet
and unobtrusive kindliness naturally made less impression, or was
accepted as a matter of course.

"Well," said the major, cheerfully but tentatively, to his wife when
they were alone again, "she seems a nice girl, after all; and a good
deal of pluck and character, by Jove! to push on in that broken buggy
rather than linger or come in a farm cart, eh?"

"She was alone in that wheat-field," said Mrs. Randolph, with grim
deliberation, "for half an hour; she confesses it herself--TALKING WITH
A YOUNG MAN!"

"Yes, but the others had gone for the buggy. And, in the name of Heaven,
what would you have her do--hide herself in the grain?" said the major,
desperately. "Besides," he added, with a recklessness he afterwards
regretted, "that mechanical chap they've got there is really intelligent
and worth talking to."

"I have no doubt SHE thought so," said Mrs. Randolph, with a mirthless
smile. "In fact, I have observed that the American freedom generally
means doing what you WANT to do. Indeed, I wonder she didn't bring him
with her! Only I beg, major, that you will not again, in the presence