too pretty to know
anything about the Deceased Wife's Sister bill, in which he was, for
family reasons, deeply interested, and considered it more likely that
she would prefer to talk about theatres and such things.

"Were you at Covent Garden last night?" he said.

"No," answered Sheila. "But I was there two days ago, and it is
very pretty to see the flowers and the fruit; and then they smell so
sweetly as you walk through."

"Oh yes, it is delightful," said Lord Arthur. "But I was speaking of
the theatre."

"Is there a theatre in there?"

He stared at her, and inwardly hoped she was not mad.

"Not in among the shops, no. But don't you know Covent Garden
Theatre?"

"I have never been in any theatre, not yet," said Sheila.

And then it began to dawn upon him that he must be talking to Frank
Lavender's wife. Was there not some rumor about the girl having come
from a remote part of the Highlands? He determined on a bold stroke:
"You have not been long enough in London to see the theatres, I
suppose."

And then Sheila, taking it for granted that he knew her husband very
well, and that he was quite familiar with all the circumstances of the
case, began to chat to him freely enough. He found that this Highland
girl of whom he had heard vaguely was not at all shy. He began to feel
interested. By and by he actually made efforts to assist her frankness
by becoming equally frank, and by telling her all he knew of the
things with which they were mutually acquainted. Of course by this
time they had got up into the Highlands. The young man had himself
been in the Highlands--frequently, indeed. He had never crossed to
Lewis, but he had seen the island from the Sutherlandshire coast.
There were very many deer in Sutherlandshire, were there not? Yes, he
had been out a great many times, and had had his share of adventures.
Had he not gone out before daylight, and waited on the top of a hill,
hidden by some rocks, to watch the mists clear along the hillsides and
in the valley below? Did not he tremble when he fired his first shot,
and had not something passed before his eyes so that he could not see
for a moment whether the stag had fallen or was away like lightning
down the bed of the stream? Somehow or other, Lord Arthur found
himself relating all his experiences, as if he were a novice begging
for the good opinion of a master. She knew all about it, obviously,
and he would tell her his small adventures if only that she mi