"Won't you come into the house ?" And she moved toward the open door.
"You are not afraid of me, then ?" asked the young man again, with his light laugh.
She wondered a moment, and then, "We are not afraid--here," she said.
"Ah, comme vous devez avoir raison!" cried the young man, looking all round him, appreciatively.

It was the first time that Gertrude had heard so many words of French spoken.

They gave her something of a sensation.
Her companion followed her, watching, with a certain excitement of his own, this tall, interesting-looking girl, dressed in her clear, crisp muslin.

He paused in the hall, where there was a broad white staircase with a white balustrade.

"What a pleasant house!" he said.