CHAPTER IV


Turning, Van Landing looked into the little face upraised to his, then
lifted his hat. She was so enveloped in the big coat which came to her
heels that for half a moment he could not tell whether she was ten or
twenty. Then he smiled.

"Thank you," he said. "I don't know that I care to see. I don't know
why I stopped."

"Oh, but it is perfectly grand, seeing them is! You can see everything
up there"--a little bare hand was waved behind her in the direction of
the porch--"and nothing down here. And you looked like you wanted to
see. There have been kings and queens, and princes and princesses, and
dukes and duchesses, and sirs, and--" She looked up. "What's the lady
name for sir? 'Tisn't siress, is it?"

"I believe not." Van Landing laughed. "I didn't know there was so much
royalty in town." "There is. They are royals--that kind of people."
Her hand pointed in the direction of the house from which could be
heard faint strains of music. "They live in palaces, and wave wands,
and eat out of gold plates, and wear silk stockings in the morning,
and--oh, they do everything that's splendid and grand and magnificent
and--"

"Do you think people are splendid and grand and magnificent because
they live in palaces and wear--"