and, therefore, a
frequent visitor. The nearest house was not in sight, but it could be
reached in a moderate walk. Its mistress was a young married woman, very
pretty to look at and of a lively turn of mind. She waved her hand to
the Mistress, while the Master called out: "Come up here, you two! We
are waiting for you." When the two complied with the command, the Master
continued: "Now make yourselves comfortable and listen to a story our
guest has promised us."

The Mistress of the House willingly took the rustic chair the Frenchman
brought forward, but John Gayther had no wish to hear the Frenchman's
story. He had no fancy for the man, and he did not believe he would
fancy his story. "Excuse me," he said to the Master of the House, "but I
see that boy Jacob coming through the gate, and I must go with him to
weed the melon-bed."

"You will do nothing of the kind," said the Master of the House; "let
the boy weed it alone."

"Never!" cried John, in horror. "He will trample on all the vines!"

"Then tell him to do something else." And, without waiting for John to
give the order, he called out: "Ahoy, there, boy! Clear out of this
garden!"

The boy vanished with celerity, and John Gayther sank upon his stool
with an air of resignation. But no sooner had the Frenchman uttered a
few sentences than he brightened up, and not only listened attentively
but put aside the disagreeable feeling he had had for him. The beginning
of the narrative lifted a load from his mind.

The Frenchman, having again betaken himself to the grassy mound, began
in an easy, airy way:

"I am a sportsman as well as a Frenchman. It seems hardly necessary to
mention both of these things at once, for in my mind they naturally go
together. I am expert in many kinds of sports, and it pleases me much,
when engaged in such recreations, to employ my mind as well as my body,
and in so doing I frequently devise methods of pursuing my favorite
sports which are never made use of by ordinary and unimaginative
persons.

"My Irene--she is my wife--is also addicted to sport. It was partly for
this reason that I married her. It is not always by sharing my dangers
and my glories that my dear Irene shows her passion for the outdoor
sports which are so fascinating to me; it is often that she does this
merely by sympathy. She can remain at home and think of me in the field
or on the stream, and be happy. When I return she welcomes, she
appreciates. If I overstay