“Dowdy?” repeated Mrs. Willoughby, in an interrogative tone.

“Oh, that’s a name I’ve just invented for Lady Dalrymple.  It’s better than Rymple.  She said so.  It’s Dowager shortened.  She’s a dowager, you know.  And so, you know, I was on the front seat all the time, when all at once I saw a gentleman on horseback.  He was a great big man—­oh, so handsome!—­and he was looking at poor little me as though he would eat me up.  And the moment I saw him I was frightened out of my poor little wits, for I knew he was coming to save my life.”

“You poor little puss! what put such an idea as that into your ridiculous little head?”

“Oh, I knew it—­second-sight, you know.  We’ve got Scotch blood, Kitty darling, you know.  So, you know, I sat, and I saw that he was pretending not to see me, and not to be following us; but all the time he was taking good care to keep behind us, when he could easily have passed us, and all to get a good look at poor me, you know.

“Well,” continued Minnie, drawing a long breath, “you know I was awfully frightened; and so I sat looking at him, and I whispered all the time to myself:  ’Oh, please don’t!—­ple-e-e-e-e-ease don’t!  Don’t come and save my life!  Ple-e-e-e-e-ease let me alone!  I don’t want to be saved at all.’  I said this, you know, all to myself, and the more I said it the more he seemed to fix his eyes on me.”

“It was very, very rude in him, I think,” said Mrs. Willoughby, with some indignation.

“No, it wasn’t,” said Minnie, sharply.  “He wasn’t rude at all.  He tried not to look at me.  He pretended to be looking at the sea, and at the pigs, and all that sort of thing, you know; but all the time, you know, I knew very well that he saw me out of the corner of his eye—­this way.”

And Minnie half turned her head, and threw upon her sister, out of the corner of her eyes, a glance so languishing that the other laughed.

“He didn’t look at you that way.  I hope?”

“There was nothing to laugh at in it at all,” said Minnie.  “He had an awfully solemn look—­it was so earnest, so sad, and so dreadful, that I really began to feel quite frightened.  And so would you; wouldn’t you, now, Kitty darling; now wouldn’t you?  Please say so.”

“Oh yes!”

“Of course you would.  Well, this person followed us.  I could see him very easily, though he tried to avoid notice; and so at last we got to the Hermitage, and he came too.  Well, you know, I think I was very much excited, and I asked Dowdy to let us go and see the cone; so she let us go.  She gave no end of warnings, and we promised to do all that she said.  So Ethel and I went out, and there was the stranger.  Well, I felt more excited than ever, and a little bit frightened—­just a very, very, tiny, little bit, you know, and I teased Ethel to go to the cone.  Well, the stranger kept in sight all the time, you know, and I felt