It has been so nice." Robin
wondered, if she held out her hand, would the Queen take it? She
ventured it with such a shy, appealing movement that the old lady
clasped it in hers, then dropped it abruptly, as though annoyed by her
own impulsiveness.

"The afternoon has passed very pleasantly for me." The Queen's voice was
measuredly polite. "I thank you for thinking of me--in my out-of-the-way
corner, and bringing me such lovely gifts." Her eyes turned from the
flowers which Brina had put in a squat pewter pitcher to the book which
lay on the table. Then she turned to Robin and levelled a glance upon
her which held a queer challenge.

"If you succeed--with your--what did you call it--House of Laughter, let
me know, sometime. I shall be most interested in your experiment."

"Then she _was_ listening," thought Robin, wondering at the bitter tone
in the woman's voice. "Maybe she's so lonely and so unhappy she hates to
think of laughter."

"Well, Red-Robin Forsyth, you certainly did spill everything you knew
and a lot more besides," cried Beryl, when the two were alone. "As if a
Queen cared a fig! I tried to head you off a couple of times." Beryl
laughed scornfully. "It was _funny_!"

Robin still smarted from her recent embarrassment; she did not relish
Beryl's laughing at her.

"We had to talk about something," she cried in defence.

"Well, if you'd given me a chance I'd have talked about things that are
happening in Europe. Sort of led her on, you know, so's maybe she'd give
herself away. _That's_ what _I_ wanted--to find out something about
_her_ instead of telling all about ourselves. Here she knows everything
about you and you notice she didn't say one word about herself! The
whole afternoon's wasted and we might as well not've gone at all. I
wanted to get something on her so's maybe--some day--" Disgusted, Beryl
broke off abruptly, quickening her step to show her companion her
displeasure.

Robin limped in silence after her; she _had_ talked too much, the Queen
was probably laughing at her now--and Beryl was angry and disgusted.

Beryl forgot her moment's displeasure, however, when Williams imparted
to them the "dope" he had on the "Queen-dame," gleaned from the old
storekeeper.

"Old Si says the 'queer party' bought that house off up there last fall
suddenly and moved up from somewhere or t'other with a truck load of
stuff. The Big-gun, beg pardon, I mean the Queen, came herself, with
some sort of a body-