ere was no mistaking the figure
slowly advancing, the long light hair, the mild eyes and timid though
persistent manner. But how in the world had Frederick von Reuter found
her, when she had been careful not to mention where they were going in
saying farewell at the pension?

"Why, Herr von Reuter," Betty exclaimed, divided between vexation and
the thought that she must not be rude, "what are you doing in this part
of the world and how did you happen to discover me?"

At this question the young man abruptly ceased his sentimental playing,
though instead of answering Betty in a sensible fashion, he pointed
first toward her hair and then toward the water behind her and the
circle of hills.

"I haf come in search of '_Das Rheingold_,'" he murmured in his funny,
broken English, "and I haf found a Rhein _maedchen, nicht wahr_?"

Betty bit her lips. She was not in the mood for nonsense and it was
difficult to conceive of her present companion as the hero of Wagner's
great opera.

"Let's not be absurd," she returned coldly. "And please answer my
questions." Betty did not mean to be disagreeable, for she did not
actually dislike this young man--he was too queer and apparently too
simple. Nevertheless it was impossible for her to appreciate how unlike
she was to any other girl with whom the young German had ever
associated. Her frankness, her self-possession, her brightness and of
course her beauty, all of which were ordinary characteristics of most
American girls, were a kind of miracle to Fritz.

"I haf come into this place that I may see _you_," he replied. "And your
_Mutter_ has told me where I must come to look. But this neighborhood I
know _sehr wohl_. It is the castle of my uncle which you may haf seen on
a hill not far away. It is of stone with a high wall around it----"

But Betty's expression had now changed, her eyes were sparkling and her
color rapidly changing. How could poor Fritz have guessed that no higher
emotion than curiosity stirred her? She now pointed invitingly toward a
fallen tree, seating herself on one end of it.

[Illustration: "TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE PLACES NEAR HERE"]

"Do tell me more about the places near here, if you know about them,"
she suggested. "I was perfectly sure that they had strange and romantic
histories. I think I can guess which is your uncle's estate. Has it a
long avenue of linden trees and a lodge covered with ivy and a lake with
a waterfall?"

Betty hesitated, for even