The Brother of Daphne

. "We get over here and go across the meadow, and there's th

ss?" I h

?" sai

-till we come up

hen?"

l right," she

highest traditions of British pugilism, strike the high road below the belt of fir

d that, reckoning three miles to the league, some fo

re," s

y wife is a bag,

omplete with sandwiches, for one of the longer walks. Daphne constituted herself guide. We never asked her to. But as such we just accepted her. We were quite passive in the matter. Going, she had guided us with a careless confidence which shamed suspicion. But coming back, she had early displayed unmi

te shortly, h

(which I have every reason to suppose was blasted) in a st

silence acro

his left leg out of some mire with a noise that made me shudde

age the fool,

lly to find that there never

cally. "The setting sun, the little band, the matron and the maid, mist

said Daph

aright?"

id 'i

hat, and begged us to excuse his

an idea,

usual ones, we don't

ize in this spot a natural camping-place. That water is close at hand, we know from Scout Berry. Jonah can take t

, somebody,"

ac I will scale yon beetling mount if peradventure I may

said

ow your

that

the women out of hand, or with your own hand-I

hich rose sharply on our right, its side dotted with

ter I was back

ly, "you haven't been rig

before honesty' just now, I really meant 'Death befor

iew. Hill and dale, woodland and pasture, stone wall and hedgerow, as far as I could see. The sinking sun was lighting gloriously the autumn livery of the woods, and, far in the distanc

they had left

he Blues. Sorry, but that's the worst of being picket. The natural intuitio

our times-mainly b

second time, I thought it prudent to get over the wall. I did so with about four seconds to spare. Nothing daunted, the winning animal took a short run and butted the wall with surprising vigour. When three large stones had falle

p hill, down dale, along roads, along imitation roads, along future roads, along past roads, across moors I had

loom I could distinctly see the shape of

ened my

ve you got

l's v

orst thing you coul

hy

ne thing I've been wantin

ear for me

ve a very large assortment in stock-fresh lot in only this af

a roun

We have been doing rather a lot in the way of blue

t'll

, please. Nothing else I can show

anks. G

a pause.

od day,'" s

but, then, we we

were

en't paid yet," I

want? It was a

re, if you like

re the mare. Wh

light. You can't drive at more than a walking pace on this

ood. But are yo

the fain

u lost,

. Have been

you want t

three miles

side of

orn as I was at one o'clock this

but are

girl, I d

oing to Lorn, any way," s

you," said I, and cl

better

ere not scaling an ascent that positively beetled, we were going down a descent which I was glad

f from my neck and arms and resumed her seat, "b

weren't frightened

ather well,

Buffs. Consi

g it's your

I gave he

g the Hastings strand? Pardon me, those last six words comprise an iambic line-a fact which is itself the best evidence of my agitation. It is a littl

, laughing; "you drive

the rei

old, and I put the ru

good," she sa

r hand on

aven't got

ked it again if I ha

," I said. "I'm n

nse

ed the two pounds two shillings beneath the current number of The Lancet, was, 'Now, mind, no rugs

I slipped it through my arm,

his sort of thing?

home and have no

ips like myself aren't as common as blackberries. And s

s if I'd got an

, as it's too dark to see; but you soun

id you

carelessly. "You s

ee

t my cheek. I distinctly felt the

chain-purse in

ell me what I look l

e is rather cold. About the kind

you kno

, when-er-when we

O

nt on hurri

dark o

where I knew my compa

nute. "Dark, with long eye

wo

so. You soun

mpl

hink

os

es

, wh

lease,

at did you me

ot a nose, and I think you have. That's all. So

what sor

he bank again with great effec

she said severely, "I'll

the

nd your own way ho

ggedly. I was almost sure that th

lent. My fingers were getting numbed, but I

your drive," she said pre

nt to c

es

didn't see you at

's cu

Forgive my seeming inquisitiveness, but

ha

, w

reat

cats or keep stamps or motor-boat or mou

N

t you know Oldham ra

at

I'm s

hy

know it either,

ha

ow Oldham-one of us ought to. I

u a Uni

st you would see in me, if it

you were a

ble. Did you see that thin

n't. Here'

ed it, and she drov

ing good at getting up and down, but rather tired. As I resumed my seat f

y-scout," she said. "Nearly all the men I kno

they're

hey ar

ee I don't, but I don't because I haven't

them up if you ha

day's Thursday.

ys bother so abo

coats will take care of themse

t w

e upon the

roa

ur, and do all that thou h

get, bo

ing to be turned into a herd of swine presently? They always have seven gates and a dense forest through which I cut a path with my sword, which, by the way, I have lef

ither flatter thyself that Circe wastes her spells on

ove your vo

and open

nd climbed

said, "We haven't go

rry for

or

n't it? Our meeting in the dark like this and driving all th

I shoul

a cell next to some one and talk

s

awfully of my youn

at schoo

ears, before I w

cousin there a year or two ago. But

ot Billy

's ri

ery strang

t here. That's right. Only three

y! Why,

you're

the whip over the

d doggedly,

tle hands on my left

the matter

thank the kind lady for giving you a lift,

id. "You can't get a good view f

o

, Ci

. I'm awf

t warm before you go on,

awfully, I m

u there? I can e

s awfully,

mea

d

art. She moved on to the seat I had vacated and I put

t some matches. At least y

didn't want them lighted

cally strayed to the ticket pocket of my coa

orge!"

t is

a bit of a match-

and you've had i

't be enough to lig

O

the l

d it be en

ce, C

od-

irce. Tw

ow

on the tire, and the

rig

s not a quarter of an inch lo

o

the shock, Circe. Th

ep your back

nk y

e tire, I raised it cautiously, sheltering it wi

said, very softly

ands on her

"I'll say 'good-bye' instead

it

aid

t that

id. "It's a

ance, I walked slowly up to the farm. I was quite sure about t

tered the room, "where hav

red, I thought tha

Cornwall," I said, "but I've

t back

A

you sa

see anything of a ram, did

was a

r he'd seen Ber

ere is

s," said

r-see Ber

es

mean-hang it, I didn't bri

im there,"

t pick up every tame

id Jonah.

you say? Did he

n him home, if it hadn

He saw him as fa

im half-w

at I never noticed that Berry had entered th

t gentleman; "very neat, my boy.

said, "you se

nly have haunted

s had sl

out. Then I remembered my umbrella and got

ed me with indignation, obviously wondering whether he would be exceeding his duty if he ordered me to

nity of the luggage van. Four porters were standing lo

one on the

's a nice bit of l

id it

at does it? Lends an air of distinction to

he coul

voice I should have recognized amid the hubbub

was

fur coat, while a little black felt hat with a ghost of a brim leaned exquisitely over one of the blue eyes.

igh

inted?"

utiful. But in myself.

sig

cout-

ong about my

t w

e again, at

ame voice and the same dear

ha

ear-ring