Is it you? And you have really grown, I believe! Or is it your hair? Come let me introduce you to my brother."Jack Romayne was a young man with thirty years of experience of the normal life of the well-born Englishman, during which time he had often known what it was to have his senses stirred and his pulses quickened by the sight of one of England's fair women, than whom none of fresher and fairer beauty are to be found in all the world;yet never had he found himself anything but master of his speech and behaviour. But to-day, when, in obedience to his sister's call, he moved across the little clearing toward the girl standing at her side, he seemed to lose consciousness of himself and control of his powers of action. He was instead faintly conscious that a girl of tall and slender grace, with an aura of golden hair about a face lovelier than he had ever known, was looking at him out of eyes as blue as the prairie crocus and as shy and sweet, that she laid her hand in his as if giving him something of herself, that holding her hand how long he knew not, he found himself gazing through those eyes of translucent blue into a soul of unstained purity as one might gaze into a shrine, and that he continued gazing until the blue eyes clouded and the fair face flushed crimson, that then, without a word, he turned from her, thrilling with a new gladness which seemed to fill not only his soul but the whole world as well. When he came to himself he found his trembling fingers fumbling with the bridle of his horse. For a few moments he became aware of a blind rage possessing him and he cursed deeply his stupidity and the gaucherie of his manner. But soon he forgot his rage for thinking of her eyes and of what he had seen behind their translucent blue.
"My dear child," again exclaimed Mrs. Waring-Gaunt, "I declare you have actually grown taller and grown--a great many other things that I may not tell you. What have they done to you at that wonderful school? Did you love it?"The girl flushed with a quick emotion. "Oh, Mrs. Waring-Gaunt, it was really wonderful. I had such a good time and every one was lovely to me. I did not know people could be so kind. But it is good to get back home again to them all, and to you, and to all this." She waved her hand to the forest about her.
"And who are up here to-day, and what are you doing?" inquired Mrs.
Waring-Gaunt.
"In the meantime I am preparing dinner," said the girl with a laugh.
"Dinner!" exclaimed Jack Romayne, who had meantime drawn near, determined to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of this girl as a man familiar with the decencies of polite society. "Dinner! It smells so good and we are desperately hungry.""Yes," cried Mrs. Waring-Gaunt. "My brother declared he was quite faint more than an hour ago, and now I am sure he is.""Fairly ravenous."
"But I don't know," said the girl with serious anxiety on her face.
"You see, we have only pork and fried potatoes, and Nora just shot a chicken--only one--and they are always so hungry. But we have plenty of bread and tea. Would you stay?""It sounds really very nice," said Mrs. Waring-Gaunt.
"It would be awfully jolly of you, and I promise not to eat too much," said the young man. "I am actually faint with hunger, and a cup of tea appears necessary to revive me.""Of course, stay," said the girl with quick sympathy. "We can't give you much, but we can give you something.""Oh----ho!"
"O-h-o-o-o-h! O-h-o-o-o-h!" A loud call came from the woods.
"There's Nora," said Kathleen. "O-o-o-o-o-h! O-o-o-o-o-h!" The girl's answering call was like the winding of a silver horn. "Here she is."Out from the woods, striding into the clearing, came a young girl dressed in workmanlike garb in short skirt, leggings and jersey, with a soft black hat on the black tumbled locks. "Hello, Kathleen, dinner ready? I'm famished. Oh, Mrs. Waring-Gaunt, glad to see you.""And my brother, Nora, Mr. Jack Romayne, just come from England, and hungry as a bear.""Just from England? And hungry? Well, we are glad to see you, Mr. Romayne." The girl came forward with a quick step and frankly offered her brown, strong hand. "We're awfully glad to see you, Mr. Romayne," she repeated. "I ought to be embarrassed, I know, only I am so hungry.""Just my fix, Miss Nora," said the young man. "I am really anxious to be polite. I feel we should decline the invitation to dinner which your sister has pressed upon us; we know it is a shame to drop in on you like this all unprepared, but I am so hungry, and really that smell is so irresistible that I feel I simply cannot be polite.""Don't!" cried the girl, "or rather, do, and stay. There's enough of something, and Joe will look after the horses." She put her hands to her lips and called, "J-o-o-e!"A voice from the woods answered her, followed by Joe himself.
"Here, Joe, take the horses and unsaddle them and tether them out somewhere."Despite Kathleen's fears there was dinner enough for all.
"This is perfectly stunning!" said Romayne, glancing round the little clearing and up at the trees waving overhead, through the interstices of whose leafy canopy showed patches of blue sky.
"Gorgeous, by Jove! Words are futile things for really great moments.""Ripping," said Nora, smiling impudently into his face. "Awfully jolly! A-1! Top hole! That's the lot, I think, according to the best authorities. Do you know any others?""I beg pardon, what?" said Romayne, looking up from his fried pork and potatoes.
"Those are all I have learned in English at least," said Nora. "Iam keen for some more. They are Oxford, I believe. Have you any others?"Mr. Romayne diverted his attention from his dinner. "What is she talking about, Miss Gwynne? I confess to be entirely absorbed in these fried potatoes.""Words, words, Mr. Romayne, vocabulary, adjectives," replied Nora.
"Ah," said Romayne, "but why should one worry about words, especially adjectives, when one has such divine realities as these to deal with?""Have some muffles, Mr. Romayne," said Nora.
"Muffles? Now what may muffles be?"
