"Of course, dad," Susie had said, in the early evening, "you will have to stay at home to-night since the Prince is coming to see you." "Oh, it's not I he's coming to see," rejoined Rushford, easily. "In fact, he'll probably be tickled to death to find me out.'' "He's not going to find you out," retorted Susie, firmly. "You're going to stay right here." "Nonsense, my dear! Why, when I was courting your mother--" "What has that to do with it?" demanded Sue, very crimson. "Do you mean to say that someone is courting someone around here?" "Of course, every man may be mistaken at times." "Well, take my word for it, you're badly mistaken this time." "Oh!" said her father, with assumed astonishment. "Am I? Then what is all this about?" "And even if they were," continued Susie, a little unsteadily, "they do it differently from the American way." "How do they do it, for heaven's sake?" "Why, dad, how should I know?" "You seem to have considerable information on the subject." "I have enough information to know," retorted Sue, with some heat, "that in Europe, a young man calls upon the head of the family, and not upon any of its younger female members." "I have always understood that Europe was behind the times," observed her father, "but I never suspected it was as bad as that. However, I take your word for it--I always do, you know. I suppose you and Nell will have to stay in your rooms." "Oh, no," said Sue, "we may be present, so long as our chaperon is there." "So I'm to do some chaperoning at last, am I?" queried her father. "The job has ceased to be a sinecure. I suppose I'll have to do all the talking, since young girls, of course, may only speak when spoken to and then must answer with a yes or no. Really, my dear, you're setting yourself an exceedingly difficult part!" "Where did you learn so much about it, dad?" "I'm reasoning by deduction--all this follows from what you've already told me. Well, I'll do my best to entertain this Dutchman. What does he talk about? Wiener-wurst and sauerkraut?" "Oh, no," said Susie, with a reminiscent smile and a heightened colour; "he talks about things much more interesting than those." And, indeed, the first moments past, Rushford found the Prince an entertaining fellow, with a fund of anecdote and experience decidedly unusual. But conversations of this sort are rarely worth recording; the less so in this instance, since the Prince had taken care to seat himself where he had a good view of the enchanting Susie, and that vision more than once caused his thoughts to wander. Still, they discussed America and Europe, art, nature, the universe--none of which has anything to do with this story--everything, in short, except the warm, palpitating human heart, with which we are principally concerned--and it was very late before the Prince finally arose to go. Sue whispered her thanks as she kissed her father good-night.