"What you say interests me very much, sir," I said. "I am only an
American trader, knocking around to see the world a little bit. You seem
to have been engaged in some scientific pursuit in that country."

"Yess," he said. "Mein own government and mein own university, they send
me to this country to do what hass not been done. I am insectologer.
Shall I show you my bugs of Oregon? You shall see them, yess? Come with
me to my hotel. You shall see many bugs, such as science hass not yet
known."

I was willing enough to go with him; and true to his word he did show me
such quantities of carefully prepared and classified insects as I had
not dreamed our own country offered.

"Twelve new species!" he said, with pride. "Mein own country will gif
me honor for this. Five years I spend. Now I go back home.

"I shall not tell you what nickname they gif me in Oregon," he added,
smiling; "but my real name iss Wolfram von Rittenhofen. Berlin, it wass
last my home. Tell me, you go soon to Oregon?"

"That is very possible," I answered; and this time at least I spoke the
truth. "We are bound in opposite directions, but if you are sailing for
Europe this spring, you would save time and gain comfort by starting
from New York. It would give us great pleasure if we could welcome so
distinguished a scientist in Washington."

"No, I am not yet distinguished. Only shall I be distinguished when I
have shown my twelve new species to mein own university."

"But it would give me pleasure also to show you Washington. You should
see also the government of those backwoodsmen who are crowding out to
Oregon. Would you not like to travel with me in America so far as that?"

He shook his head doubtfully. "Perhaps I make mistake to come by the St.
Lawrence? It would be shorter to go by New York? Well, I haf no hurry. I
think it over, yess."

"But tell me, where did you get that leetle thing?" he asked me again
presently, taking up in his hand the Indian clasp.

"I traded for it among the Crow Indians."

"You know what it iss, eh?"

"No, except that it is Indian made."

He scanned the round disks carefully. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "I show you
sometings."

He reached for my pencil, drew toward him a piece of paper, taking from
his pocket meantime a bit of string. Using the latter for a radius, he
drew a circle on the piece of paper.

"Now look what I do!" he said, as I bent over curiously. "See, I draw a
straight line through the circle. I