she said very gravely.

And somehow, when she said it I seemed to experience a sense of inferiority — which was absurd and monstrous, considering what she doubtless was.

It had now begun to rain in very earnest; and was like to rain harder ere the storm passed. My clothes being my best, I instinctively stepped into the doorway; and, of a sudden, she was there too, barring my entry, flushed and dangerous, demanding the reason of my intrusion.

“Why,” said I astonished, “may I not seek shelter from a storm in a ruined sugar-house, without asking by your leave?”

“This sap-house is my own dwelling!” she said hotly. “It is where I live!”

“Oh, Lord,”