There's a phrasal verb "to spring from", one of the meanings of which is to appear suddenly and unexpectedly. Looking for the example sentences with it, I noticed that it's used in questions put both in the past and, much more rarely, the present tense.
So, my question is this:
What might the author's choice depend on when they decide in favor of the use the past or the present tense for the question to be put in?
The examples:
“Where did you spring from? I thought you were out of town.” “I've just got back. I looked in on you to see how the land lay.”
Where did you spring from?” Ex-Major Ferdinand Sellars leaned his large-boned frame in the doorway and grinned at Alec in satisfaction.
Where did you spring from?' 'From that alleyway.' She pointed over her shoulder.
Where do you spring from? How long have you been in Paris?”
Where do you spring from? Who are you--anyhow? How many of you are there in that boat?"
And where do you spring from with such great strength and unknown purpose?
I may be mistaken, but my gut feeling tells me that the use of the present is somewhat obsolete, like "Where do you come from?" is dated in comparison with "Where are you from?" I wonder whether there may be other explanations.
