fishing rod into your hand and you went with him to the river. I do
not myself care for angling, and I was at the time very busy with a
picture, but I could not resist the temptation to follow you. You
skipped into the punt with the greatest glee, baited your hook,
adjusted your float on the line, cast it into the water and fished
with such skill that you caught two fish to my friend's one.
Observing all these things, I came to the conclusion that you had
lived much in the open air, and other incidents made me know that you
were a great lover of Nature."

'"And you," I said, "must also be a lover of Nature, or you could not
find such delight in watching animals."

'"No," he said, "the interest I take in animals has nothing whatever
to do with love of Nature or study of Nature. They interest me by
that unconsciousness of grace which makes them such a contrast to
man."

'We then went into the house. Our talk during our ramble in the
fields seemed to remove effectually all awkwardness and restraint
between us.

X

'That day,' said Winnie, 'a determination which had been caused by
many a reflection during the last few hours induced me at dinner to
lead the conversation to the subject of pictures and models. In a few
minutes Mr. D'Arcy launched out in an eloquent discourse upon a
subject which was so new to me and so familiar to him.

'"You were saying this morning, Mr. D'Arcy," I urged me to tell her
what had befallen myself since we had parted at the cottage door at
Raxton. Even had it been possible for me to talk about myself without
touching upon some dangerous incident or another, my impatience to
get at the mystery of mysteries in connection with her and her rescue
from Primrose Court was so great that I could only implore her to
tell me what had occurred down to her leaving Hurstcote Manor, and
also what had been the cause of her leaving.

'Well,' said Winnie, 'I am now going to tell you of an extraordinary
thing that happened. One fine night the moon was so brilliant that
after I quitted Mr. D'Arcy I stole out of the side door into the
garden, a favourite place of mine, for old English flowers were mixed
with apple trees and pear trees. I was strolling about the garden,
thinking over a thousand things connected with you, and myself, and
Mr. D'Arcy, when I saw stooping over a flower-bed the figure of a
tall woman. I could scarcely believe my eyes, for I had all the while
supposed that, excepting Mr. D