oman to the door; then it was the
youngest of the travelers who asked, with a pleasant greeting in
Rhaetian, for the best suite of rooms which Frau Yorvan could give.

But to the girl's astonishment the landlady showed none of the delight
her son had predicted. Surprised she certainly was, even startled, and
certainly embarrassed. For an instant she seemed to hesitate before
replying, then her emotion was partly explained by her words.
Unfortunately her best rooms were engaged; four of the bedrooms with
the choicest view, and the one private sitting-room the inn possessed.
But if the ladies would put up with the second best, she would gladly
accommodate them. Was it but for the night? Oh, for several days!
(Again the apple face looked dubious.) Well, if the ladies would
graciously enter, and choose from what she had to offer, she would be
honored.

They did enter and presently wrote their names as Lady Mowbray, Miss
Mowbray, Miss Manchester, and maid. An hour later when the new-comers,
mother, daughter and _dame de compagnie_, sat down to a hot supper in
a bed-chamber hastily but skilfully transformed into a private
dining-room, the youngest of the three remarked to Frau Yorvan upon
the peaceful stillness of her house.

"One would think there wasn't a soul about the place except
ourselves," said she, "yet you've told us you have other guests."

"The gentlemen who are stopping here are away all day long in the
mountains," explained Frau Yorvan. "It is now the time for chamois
hunting and it is for that, and also the climbing of a strange group
of rocks called the Bunch of Needles, only to be done by great
experts, that they come to me."

"They are out late this evening. Aren't you beginning to be a little
anxious about them, if they go to such dangerous places?"

"Oh, to-night, gracious Fraeulein, they will not return at all," said
the landlady, warming impulsively to the subject. "They often stop at
a kind of hut they have near the top of the mountain, to begin some
climb they may wish to undertake very early. They are much closer to
it there, you see, and it saves their wasting several hours on the
way. They are constantly in the habit of stopping at the hut, in fine
weather; but they are very considerate; they always let me know their
plans beforehand."

"If they're away so much, I think it a little selfish in them to keep
your one private sitting-room, when you might need it for others,"
remarked the girl.