and twenty perhaps, and that her features, though not handsome, had a homely attraction of their own when animated by the action of speaking.
The brigadier, who, true to his profession, looked upon himself as a rake of the first water, cocked his hat, put his hand to his side, and leered at her with a roguish air, which was, in truth, not so fascinating in a gentleman of his portly build and purplish complexion as he fancied.
"You wenches in these parts are kinder to the beasts than to their riders, egad!" said he, with a shake of the head that set his bob-wig wagging merrily. "You don't offer me a drink; and if I was to beg such a favor of you as a word to tell me where to find the smugglers, I'll be sworn you'd give me a stare like the rest of 'em, and vow you'd never heard of the creatures!"
The woman listened to him with modest gravity, her face quite stolid, her eyes on the horse. Then she said, in a quiet, even tone, without either prudery or coquetry, but with an air of being much interested by what he said—
"Well, sir, I'm not going to tell you that.
