it is not my land," said I. "It is your father's for the time
being. I have no right here whatever. I do not know how to explain,
but you must think it very strange to find me here when you supposed I
had started for Europe."

"Oh! I knew you had not started for Europe," said she, "because I have
seen you working in the grounds--"

"Seen me!" I interrupted. "Is it possible?"

"Oh, yes," said she. "I don't know how long you had been coming when I
first saw you, but when I found that fresh bed of pinks all
transplanted from somewhere, and just as lovely as they could be,
instead of the old ones, I spoke to the man; but he did not know
anything about it, and said he had not had time to do anything to the
flowers, whereas I had been giving him credit for ever so much weeding
and cleaning up. Then I supposed that Mr. Barker, who is just as kind
and attentive as he can be, had done it; but I could hardly believe he
was the sort of man to come early in the morning and work out of
doors,"--("Oh, how I wish he had come!" I thought. "If I had caught
him here working among the flowers!"),--"and when he came that
afternoon to play tennis I found that he had been away for two days,
and could not have planted the pinks. So I simply got up early one
morning and looked out, and there I saw you, with your coat off,
working just as hard as ever you could."

I stepped back, my mind for a moment a perfect blank.

"What could you have thought of me?" I exclaimed presently.

"Really, at first I did not know what to think," said she. "Of course
I did not know what had detained you in this country, but I remembered
that I had heard that you were a very particular person about your
flowers and shrubs and grounds, and that most likely you thought they
would be better taken care of if you kept an eye on them, and that when
you found there was so much to do you just went to work and did it. I
did not speak of this to anybody, because if you did not wish it to be
known that you were taking care of the grounds it was not my business
to tell people about it. But yesterday, when I found this place where
I had hung my hammock so beautifully cleared up and made so nice and
clean and pleasant in every way, I thought I must come down to tell you
how much obliged I am, and also that you ought not to take so much
trouble for us. If you think the grounds need more attention, I will
persuade my father to hire another man, now and then, to