'Excuse me’, says I,'Can you tell me where Mr Hinkle lives?'
She looks at me as cool as if I was the man come to see about the weeding of the garden, but I thought I saw just a slight twinkle of fun in her eyes."
(a) Who is Mr Hinkle and why is the speaker looking for him?
(b) Why does ‘she’ look at him as if he was the man who had come to see the weeding of the garden?
© What is the meaning of ‘twinkle of fun in her eyes’?
(a) There is no Mr Hinkle. The speaker invented this name to start a conversation with the lady.
(b) She wants to give the impression that it is below her dignity to talk to a stranger.
© It means that she is either happy or amused about something.