"Det-tup!" shouted the boy vociferously. "Det-tup, I say!" But the young man had already caught sight of Jane. "Hold on, Buster," he said, turning to the child, "till I speak to the lady. Did you ring?" he added, addressing Jane, with a polite bow. "Yes," she told him; "but no one answered. I wish to see Mrs. Belknap--on business," she added hastily. "Ah, yes," he returned, apparently absorbed in his contemplation of Jane's undeniable beauty. "Mrs. Belknap is not at home; but--oh, don't go--er--she'll be at home soon. In fact, she told me she was expecting some one, and asked me to----" "I think she expected me," said Jane coldly. "I am the new maid--that is, if I suit." The young man stared incredulously. "I--I beg your pardon," he stammered, a wave of color passing over his boyish face. "I don't know what you'll think of me; but I--er--fancied you were a friend of Mrs. Belknap's. She was expected this afternoon, and I----" "No; I am the maid," said Jane haughtily. "If Mrs. Belknap is coming home directly, I will wait here till she comes." She sat down again on the green bench and fixed her hazel eyes on the remote distance. The small boy threw down his whip and climbed up the steps. "I want a piece of bwead an' butter," he said confidentially, "an' I want a dwink of water, an' I want----" "Buster!" called the young man warningly. "Come here!" But the infant paid no heed. "I want a piece of bwead an' butter," he repeated in a louder voice, "an' I want a dwink of water, an' I want----" "Were you speaking to me?" inquired Jane, withdrawing her eyes from the safe horizon and looking down at the child. "Yeth," he assented, "I want a piece of bwead an' butter, an' I want a dwink of water, an' I----" "Come with me, Buster! I'll get them for you," volunteered the young man. He was deliberately divesting himself of the scarlet harness. "Won't you come in?" he went on, turning to Jane. "I see it's beginning to rain." Reluctantly she passed in at the door he held wide for her. "Please sit down," he urged. "I'm sure Mrs. Belknap will be at home very soon. She's only gone out for an hour or so." "I want a d-w-i-nk!" vociferated the small boy. "Yes, I gathered as much from your remarks; come on, old fellow." Jane sat down, and the young man and the child disappeared into the unknown regions beyond. Jane could hear the boy's shrill voice, and the deeper replies of the man. Her cheeks were very red, and she sat stiffly erect. She felt unreasonably vexed with herself, with the child, but most of all with the young man. He was unlike any masculine person of her acquaintance, she reflected; still he had spoken to her very civilly, though not in the tone a gentleman should use to an inferior. But was he, after all, a gentleman? These class distinctions were said to be very puzzling in America, Jane remembered. She resolved not to speak to this particular young American again. It would not, she concluded sagely, be the correct thing to do.