Page:Old ninety-nine's cave.djvu/301

 "I'm pretty well drabbled," she said demurely, not noticing his look of admiration. "But come, I'm not like Eletheer, Mr. Gallant, help me to a seat up there beside you."

He was already preparing to do so and, taking off his coat, he spread it on the rock, which was still damp with dew, and they sat down together.

It was not yet seven, the busy city below them had not yet fully wakened and the air was fresh and sweet. To Hernando, the girl beside him had always been simply "Cornelia, the baby." Like Eletheer, he too had noticed George Van Tine's marked attentions to her but he had also noticed that they were not objectionable, and he wondered if she fully understood the seriousness of marriage. Just now she was looking intently down among the rocks and bushes and he said gently,—"'A penny for your thoughts.'"

"I'm just wondering if my guineas could have stolen their nest in that thicket," she answered, pointing to where her glance had been directed.