e was no time to waste.

At the door of the Inn stood the landlord, his broad face lit by a smile
of satisfaction. Life was sleepy in this quiet vale; he welcomed a
passing excitement.

"The river is in flood, miss!" he cried genially. "Yes, indeed, we
shall have a big flood! There were bad thunder-storms this last week up
in the hills in Merioneth, where the river rises, and all the streams
will be swollen, and pouring down into the lake. It was the same in the
spring five years ago, when my Willie was born. Yes, indeed, the roar
of it woke us in the middle of the night. Look at the colour of it now,
miss, and the speed! Soon there will not be a rock to be seen. Yes,
indeed, it will be a fine sight, the river, when it will be in flood!"

He was beaming with innocent enjoyment. His face fell like that of a
thwarted child when the visitor turned, without as much as a word, and
walked down the path; he stared after her blankly, then shrugged his
shoulders, and ambled heavily back inside the Inn.

Lilith walked with rapid footsteps; her lips were set, but her eyes
roamed. They turned upward towards the house among the trees where she
had left Eve seated on the veranda. Assuredly Eve was there still; she
had a headache, and had announced her decision to remain at home. This
morning, for once, the river seat had lost its allure. Of a certainty
Eve was still on her veranda. Nevertheless Lilith's footsteps grew
quicker; straight as a die she made for the point on the bank opposite
to the chain of stepping-stones.

No trace of an occupant was to be seen on the central islet, but a
stronger sense than that of sight was at work in Lilith's brain. All
the arguments in the world were powerless to deceive her. Eve was on
the rock! She knew it. It was the truth.

On the edge of the road stood the stump of an old tree, the nearest fork
of which stood four or five feet from the ground. Lilith grasped it
with both hands, and with an agile movement drew her knees up to the
level. The rest was easy; she took another grasp of the trunk, drew up
her feet and stood, supporting herself on either side, gazing over the
stream.

Yes! the inner certitude had been correct. Against the dull grey of the
rock lay the folds of a white dress, the gleam of scarlet from a folded
parasol, a dark head lay tilted backward towards the sky. Eve was
there, asleep, or wrapped in one of her trance-like reveries in which
she was unco