Page:BM Bower - Her Prairie Knight.djvu/39

 who originated that phrase, 'The cattle grazing on a thousand hills'? He must have stood just here when he said it."

"Wasn't it one of your American poets? Longfellow, or—er"

Beatrice simply looked at him a minute and said "Pshaw!"

"Well," he retorted, "you don't know yourself who it was."

"And to think," Beatrice went on, ignoring the subject, "some of those grazing cows and bossy calves are mine—my very own. I never cared before, or thought much about it, till I came out and saw where they live, and Dick pointed to a cow and the sweetest little red and white calf, and said: 'That's your cow and calf, Trix.' They were dread'fully afraid of me, though—I'm afraid they didn't recognize me as their mistress. I wanted to get down and pet the calf—it had the dearest little snub nose—but they bolted, and wouldn't let me near them."

"I fancy they were not accustomed to meeting angels unawares."

"Sir Redmond, I wish you wouldn't You are so much nicer when you're not trying to be nice." 37