Page:Frank Stockton - Rudder Grange.djvu/186



" nex' mornin' was fine an' nice," continued Pomona, "an' after our breakfast had been brought to us, we went out in the grounds to take a walk. There was lots of trees back of the house, with walks among 'em, an' altogether it was so oletimey an' castleish that I was as happy as a lark.

"'Come along. Earl Miguel,' I says; 'let us tread a measure 'neath these mantlin' trees.'

"'All right,' says he. 'Your Jiguel attends you. And what might our noble second name be? What is we earl an' earl-ess of?'

"'Oh, anything,' says I. 'Let's take any name at random.'

"'All right,' says he. 'Let it be random. Earl an' Earl-ess Random. Come along.' "So we walks about, I feelin' mighty noble an' springy, an' afore long we sees another couple a-walkin' about under the trees.

"'Who's them?' says I.

"'Don't know,' says he, 'but I expect they're some o' the other boarders. The man said he had other boarders when I spoke to him about takin' us.'

"'Let's make-believe they're a count an' countess,' says I. 'Count an' Countess of—'

"'Milwaukee,' says he.

"I didn't think much of this for a noble name, but still it would do well enough, an' so we called