She spoke to him in his own tongue, and he told her all about the little family he had left and his days in far-away France.

But in Ringan was the oddest change.

Her presence kept him tongue-tied, and when she spoke to him he was embarrassed into stuttering.

He was eager to serve her in everything, but he could not look her in the face or answer readily when she spoke.

This man, so debonair and masterful among his fellows, was put all out of countenance by a wearied girl.