never dared tell
him what they had come to consult him about."

Jan left home in such haste that he had no time to think about the
dreadful man he was going to see. But while passing through the
groves of the Ashdales toward the big forest the old dread came
over him. "It was mighty stupid in me not to have taken Glory
Goldie along!" he said to himself.

When leaving home he had not seen the girl about, so he concluded
that she had betaken herself to some lonely spot in the woods, to
weep away her grief, as she never wanted to be seen by any one when
she felt downhearted.

Just as Jan was about to turn from the road into the forest he
heard some one yodelling and singing up on the mountain, to right
of him. He stopped and listened. It was a woman's voice; surely it
could not be the one it sounded like! In any case, he must know for
a certainty before going farther.

He could hear the song clearly and distinctly, but the singer was
hidden by the trees. Presently he turned from the road and pushed
his way through some tangle-brush in the hope of catching a glimpse
of her; but she was not as near as he had imagined. Nor was she
standing still. On the contrary, she seemed to be moving farther
away--farther away and higher up.

At times the singing seemed to come from directly above him. The
singer must be going up to the peak, he thought.

She had evidently taken a winding path leading up the mountain,
where it was almost perpendicular. Here there was a thick growth of
young birches; so of course he could not see her. She seemed to be
mounting higher and higher, with the swiftness of a bird on the
wing, singing all the while.

Then Jan started to climb straight up the mountain; but in his
eagerness he strayed from the path and had to make his way through
the bewildering woods. No wonder he was left far behind! Besides he
had begun to feel as if he had a heavy weight on his chest; he
could hardly get his breath as he tramped uphill, straining his
ears to catch the song. Finally he went so slowly that he seemed
not to be moving at all.

It was not easy to distinguish voices out in the woods, where there
was so much that rustled and murmured and chimed in, as it were.
But Jan felt that he must get to where he could see the one who for
very joy went flying up the steep. Otherwise he would harbour
doubts and misgivings the rest of his life. He knew that once he
was on the mountain top, where it was barren of trees,