Whereupon the elder of the two--neither was young, but one was less young--the elder of the two informed me in calm English that they had lost their way, and she asked me to direct them and also to tell the dog not to make quite so much noise, in order that they might clearly understand what I said. 'He is a fine fellow,' she said, 'but we should be glad if he would make less noise.' The younger one said nothing, but smiled at me. She was pleasant-looking, this one, flushed and nicely moist from walking in the heat. The other one was more rocky; considering the weather, and the angle of the slope they had either come up or down, she seemed quite unnaturally arid. I seized Mou-Mou by the collar, and ran him along to his kennel. 'You stay there and be good,' I said to him, though I know he doesn't understand a word of English. 'He won't hurt you,' I assured the strangers, going back to them. 'Ah,' said the elder of the two; and added, 'I used to say that to people about _my_ dog.' They still stood motionless, holding their skirts, the younger one smiling at me. 'Won't you come down?' I said. 'Come in and rest a little? I can tell you better about your road if you'll come in. Look--you go along that path there, and it brings you round to the front door.' 'Will the dog be at the front door?' asked the elder. 'Oh no--besides, he wouldn't hurt a fly.' 'Ah,' said the elder eyeing Mou-Mou sideways, who, from his kennel, eyed her, 'I used to say that to people about _my_ dog.' The younger one stood smiling at me. They neither of them moved. 'I'll come up and bring you down,' I said, hurrying round to the path that leads from the terrace on to the slope. When they saw that this path did indeed take them away from Mou-Mou they came with me. Directly they moved he made a rush along his bar, but arrived too late and could only leap up and down barking. 'That's just high spirits,' I said. 'He is really most goodnatured and affectionate.' 'Ah,' said the elder, 'I used to say that to people--' 'Mind those loose stones,' I interrupted; and I helped each one down the last crumbly bit on to the terrace. They both had black kid gloves on. More than ever, as I felt these warm gloves press my hand, was I sure that what they really wanted was an omnibus along Oxford Street. Once on the level and out of sight of Mou-Mou, they walked with an air of self-respect. Especially the elder. The younger, though she had it too, seemed rather to be following an example than originating an attitude. Perhaps they were related to a Lord Mayor, I thought. Or a rector. But a Lord Mayor would be more likely to be the cause of that air of glowing private background to life.