red over the loose stones and decaying logs till she
reached the level of the stream, and there, strangely enough, scattered
among broken bits of granite, were small bright stones of a deep
wine-color. "These are not diamonds," she said to herself, "but they are
too pretty to lie neglected here, whatever they may be."

She gathered them one by one, tying her handkerchief into four knots at
the corners for a basket; and so absorbed was she that she had quite
forgotten the weird shadows and the strange noises in the wood, until
she was startled by a voice close beside her.

Her heart gave a sudden bound, as if it were going to jump away from her
without so much as saying by your leave, and turning quickly, she saw,
not the old woman--although the voice had sounded curiously like
hers--but a quaint pale-faced little man, with small faded-looking blue
eyes that blinked in the moonlight as if the brightest of June-day suns
had been shining upon him.

[Illustration: "SO YOU ARE FOND OF GEMS, MY LITTLE MAIDEN?"]

"So you are fond of gems, my little maiden?" said the small man, in a
small thin voice, winking and blinking good-naturedly as he spoke.

The child stood staring at her companion, too much astonished to answer
him a word, for she, nor you, nor I, I believe, had ever seen such a
curious being before. He was so small that she could have tucked him
under her arm and run away with him, but his pale blue eyes had a
strange light in them, like nothing seen above the ground, and she might
have gone on staring at him from that day to this if her handkerchief
had not slipped from her fingers, letting her stones roll here and there
over the ground, whereupon she uttered a low cry of disappointment.

"Oh, never mind those," said the little man, smiling; "they are nothing
but garnets. Just come with me, and I will show you stones a thousand
times more beautiful."

"So you live in the country where gems grow instead of flowers?" said
the child, recovering her voice and her self-possession at the same
time.

"Yes," he answered; "I am the keeper of the gate, and if you will come
with me, I will show you more beautiful things than any you ever dreamed
of."

This invitation was just what the child wanted, and she followed the
gate-keeper without another word.

What a strange place it was, this country of his into which he was
leading her! It was so dark that she could see nothing but gleaming
lights shining through the dar