urprised
smile.

"Well, my love, I was thinking of the opposite of modesty, which is the
same thing. Do you know, I had a meeting on the day of my arrival here
which surprised me very much? To say truth, I did not mention it
sooner, because I wished to give you a little surprise. Why do you
change your seat, my love? Did you feel a draught where you were?"

"No--no. I--I only want to get the light a little more at my back--to
keep it off my face. But go on, mother. What was the surprise about?
I'm anxious to know."

If Milly did not absolutely know, she had at least a pretty good idea of
what was coming!

"Well, of course you remember about that young man--that--that
_cowardly_ young man who--"

"Who ran you down in London? Yes, yes, _I_ know," interrupted the
daughter, endeavouring to suppress a laugh, and putting her handkerchief
suddenly to her face. "I remember well. The monster! What about him?"

"You may well call him a monster! Can you believe it? I have met him
here--in this very island, where he must be living somewhere, of course;
and he actually ran me down again--all _but_." She added the last two
words in order to save her veracity.

"You don't really mean it?" exclaimed Milly, giving way a little in
spite of herself. "With a bicycle?"

It was the mother's turn to laugh now.

"No, you foolish thing; even _I_ have capacity to understand that it
would be impossible to use those hideous--frightful instruments, on the
bad hill-roads of this island. No; but it seems to be the nature of
this dis-disagreeable--I had almost said detestable--youth, to move only
under violent impulse, for he came round a corner of the Eagle Cliff at
such a pace that, as I have said, he _all but_ ran into my arms and
knocked me down."

"Dreadful!" exclaimed Milly, turning her back still more to the light
and working mysteriously with her kerchief.

"Yes, dreadful indeed! And when I naturally taxed him with his
cowardice and meanness, he did not seem at all penitent, but went on
like a lunatic; and although what he said was civil enough, his way of
saying it was very impolite and strange; and after we had parted, I
heard him give way to fiendish laughter. I could not be mistaken, for
the cliffs echoed it in all directions like a hundred hyenas!"

As this savoured somewhat of a joke, Milly availed herself of it, set
free the safety-valve, and, so to speak, saved the boiler!

"Why do you laugh so much,