In case you don't get a better answer (I've experiences with highline,
but not with 'echo'):

If you are on Windows, maybe it does not work.

If you are on Linux/Unix, do you have everything from the
documentation:

"
echo:
This requires HighLineÃÔ character reader. See the character attribute
for details.

Note: When using HighLine to manage echo on Unix based systems, we
recommend installing the termios gem. Without it, itÃÔ possible to
type fast enough to have letters still show up (when reading character
by character only).
"

-Axel