As she approached the tree I
advanced to meet her.
"You made me come too far," she said reproachfully, as soon as we were
near each other. "The lane which leads to the house I came to visit is a
quarter of a mile behind me."
"I am sorry," I replied, "that I have made you walk any farther than
necessary on such a warm morning, but I did not know that you intended
to turn from this road. Let us step into the shade of this tree; we can
talk more comfortably there."
She looked at the tree, but did not move. "What I have to say," she
remarked, "can be said here; it will not take long."
"You must not stand in the sun," I replied; "you are already heated.
Come into the shade," and, without waiting her answer, I walked toward
the tree; she followed me.
"Now, then," said I, "here is a great stone conveniently placed, upon
which we can sit and rest while we talk."
She fixed her large eyes upon me with a certain surprise. "Truly, you
have no regard for conventionalities. It is sufficiently out of the way
for a sister of the House of Martha to meet a gentleman in this manner,
but to sit with him under a tree would be ridiculously absurd, to say
the least of it."
"It does not strike me in that light," I said.
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