ome one unceremoniously
dragged the canine back; the door was opened wider and a brawny
figure, smoking a long-stemmed pipe, barred the way. The dog, but
partly appeased, peered from behind the man's sturdy legs, awaiting
hostilities. The latter, an imperturbable Dutchman, eyed the intruder
askance, smoking as impassively in his face as one of his ancestors
before William the Testy. From his point of vantage on the threshold
the care-taker looked down upon the master so indifferently, while the
dog glared so viciously that the land baron cried angrily:

"Why the devil don't you get out of the way and call off that beast?"

The man pondered. "No one but the heir would give orders like that,"
he said, so accustomed to speaking his thoughts in the solitude of the
great rooms, that he gave way to the habit now. "This must be the
heir."

Slowly the care-taker moved aside, the hound shifting his position
accordingly, and Mauville entered, gazing around with some interest,
for the interior of the manor realized the pretensions of its outward
aspect. The floor of the hall was of satinwood and rosewood, and the
mahogany wainscoting, extending almost to the ceiling, was black with
age. With its rich carvings, the stairway suggested woody rioting in
balustrades lifting up to the support of the heavy beams in the
ceiling. The furnishings were in keeping, but dust obscured the
mirror-like surface of the mahogany tables, the heavy draperies were
in need of renovation, while a housewife would have viewed with
despair the condition of brass and ebony inlaid cabinets, ancient
tapestries, and pictures, well-nigh defaced, but worthy, even in their
faded aspect, of the brush of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Benjamin West and
the elder Peale.

Having casually surveyed his new home, the heir was reminded of the
need for refreshment after his long journey, and, turning to the
care-taker, asked him what there was in the house? The servant smoked
silently as though deeply considering this momentous question, while
the rear guard maintained unabated hostility between the man's
firmly-planted feet. Then abruptly, without removing his pipe, the
guardian of the manor ejaculated:

"Short-cakes and oly-koeks."

The other laughed, struck his knee with his light cane and demanded to
be shown to the library, where he would have these outlandish dishes
served.

"And bring with them, Mynheer Oly-koeks, a bottle of wine," he
continued. "At the same time,