I saw Tam and Jock at a pool a
long way down, so they couldn't hear you, you know."
"And I'm very much obliged to you. You held it far better than Tam or
Jock would have done. But how did you get up here?"
"I climbed up the burn," said Alice simply, putting up a hand to confine
a wandering tress. The young man saw a small, very simply dressed girl,
with a flushed face and bright, deep eyes. The small white hat crowned
a great tangle of wonderful reddish gold hair. She held herself with
the grace which is born of natural health and no modish training; the
strong hazel stick, the scratched shoes, and the wet fringes of her gown
showed how she had spent the afternoon. The young man, having received
an excellent education, thought of Dryads and Oreads.
Alice for her part saw a strong, well-knit being, with a brown,
clean-shaven face, a straight nose, and a delicate, humorous mouth. He
had large grey eyes, very keen, quizzical, and kindly. His raiment was
disgraceful--an old knickerbocker suit with a ruinous Norfolk jacket,
patched at the elbows and with leather at wrist and shoulder.
Apparently he scorned the June sun, for he had no cap. His pockets
seemed bursting with tackle, and a discarded basket lay on the ground.
The whole figure pleased her, its rude health, simplicity, and disorder.
The atrocious men who sometimes came to her father's house had been
miracles of neatness, and Mr.
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