s almost covered with
ivy!"

"Yes, it is picturesque, and I am curious to see the sort of family that
lives in such a place."

"Is no one there now?"

"Nobody."

"Nor anywhere near?"

"No. I have looked in every direction--and shouted in every direction.
They are probably off in their boat."

As Pats and Elinor approached the building and stood for a moment before
the door, a squad of hens and chickens, most of them white, began to
gather about. They seemed very trusting and not at all afraid. The
guiding spirit of the party--a tall, self-conscious rooster, attired,
apparently, in a scarlet cap, a light gray suit with voluminous
knickerbockers, and yellow stockings--studied the new-comers, with his
head to one side, expressing himself in sarcastic gutturals.

"That fellow," said Pats, "seems to be making side remarks about us, and
they are not complimentary."

His companion paid no attention to this speech. She had regretted her
enthusiasm over the cottage. Enthusiasm might foster a belief that she
was enjoying his society. So she remarked, in a colder tone, "I think
you had better knock."

He knocked. They listened in silence. He knocked again. Still no answer.
Then he opened the door and entered, she following cautiously. After one
swift, comprehensive survey, she turned to him in amazement. He was
watching her, expecting this effect.

The interior of the building was practically a single room. From the
objects contained it might be the hall of a palace, or of an old
chateau--or of a gallery in some great museum. On the walls hung
splendid tapestries and rare old paintings. Beneath them stood Italian
cabinets of superb design, a marriage chest, a Louis XV. sofa in gilt,
upholstered with Beauvais tapestry, chairs and bergere to match.
Scattered about were vases in old Sevres, clocks in ormolu, miniatures,
and the innumerable objects of ancestral and artistic value pertaining
to a noble house. Over all lay the mellowness of age, those harmonies of
color that bewitch the antiquary.

Dumfounding it certainly was, the sudden transition from primeval nature
without to this sumptuous interior. Conspicuous in the sombre richness
of these treasures were two marble busts, standing on either side of the
great tapestry fronting the door. They were splendid works of art,
larger than life, and represented a lofty individual who might have been
a marshal of France with the Grand Conde, and an equally exalted
personag