"
"Do you really wish to know?"
"Yes, dear Nanna,--pardon me--Mademoiselle Nanna I should have said.
Now Mademoiselle, please be seated, the grass is quite soft. I wish to
catechise you a little."
"But I shall not answer you, sir, if you call me Mademoiselle; it sounds
so cold and disagreeable."
"Well, I will be careful not to do so; but let us make a commencement."
"With my qualifications?"
"Certainly; but why do you sit at such a distance?"
"We are not so far from each other."
"That proves you to be no mathematician. Now, tell me, how many yards
distance are there between us?"
"Three, I think."
"Poor child, you have not reached your A B C's in arithmetic; but I will
be your instructor."
"How so?"
"You shall soon see." He quickly unloosed his neckcloth. "This," he
continued, "is precisely one yard in length. Now, I will measure the
ground, and when I have measured three yards, then--"
"What then?"
"Then I will seat myself; for you have yourself chosen the distance."
The unsuspecting Nanna had not the slightest idea of the little plot the
young man had arranged to entrap her.
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