rf men were urging horses seaward, or
swimming them toward the shore, with long rake-like implements in their
wake, which gathered and bore along masses of the glittering brown and
rosy kelp. The splash and foam of the waves, the rearing horses, the
cries of the men and of the seagulls, who seemed to resent this
intrusion upon their haunts, made a vivid and fascinating picture, which
seemed in keeping with the beauty of sea and sky and the freshness of
the sun-warmed wind.

Then, passing the beach, the carriages drove along a smooth country road
for a short distance, and turned into a narrow lane running up hill,
which presently brought them to a small farm-house built on the very
edge of a ravine.

"Here we take to our feet," said Mrs. Gray, jumping out of the
wagonette.

The farmer and his wife, who seemed to be old acquaintances, came out to
speak to her. The baskets were collected, and the carriages sent back to
town, with orders to return to the same place at six o'clock.

"Oh, why six? why not stay and go home by moonlight?" urged Julia.

"My dear child, if you were in the habit of reading either the almanac
or the heavens, you would know that there will be no moon to-night till
after eleven o'clock," said her chaperone. "These roads will be as black
as pitch by half-past seven. Now, girls, each of you take your own shawl
and one of the baskets, and we will _descend_ into Paradise. It sounds
paradoxical, but you shall see."

She led the way down a steep narrow pathway on the hill-side into the
valley below. The path was overhung with trees. It was necessary to put
the boughs aside here and there; brambles reached from the thicket to
catch at the girls' skirts as they went by; but when they had passed
these trifling obstacles they found themselves safely on the level
floor of a little valley below.

Such a choice little valley! It was enclosed between the line of hill
from which they had just descended and another parallel line, whose top
was of solid granite and whose base was walled by trees. This double
barrier kept off all cold winds, and let the sunshine in from east to
west to flood and foster the valley growths. To the east the eye saw
only the winding of the leafy glade; the west stood open to the sea, and
gave a wide vista of glittering ocean and yellow surf-fringed beach.

The ground was carpeted with the softest grass. Thickets of wild roses
showed here and there a late blossom, and other thicke