Page:Pontoppidan - Emanuel, or Children of the Soil (1896).djvu/178

 awe-inspiring sense of her purity of soul, depth of feeling and uprightness.

As soon as he saw her he tried to hurry on his companions. He longed to speak to her, and, if possible, to discover by her face what impression his speech had made upon her. But it was difficult to get the two peasants out of their very leisurely walk, and before they reached the young girls, they had started running down the last steep slope to the shore.

A few minutes later, Emanuel and his companions also reached the meeting-place. This was a sandy spot close to the water, a semicircular widening of the otherwise narrow shore which ran up between two steep cliffs. It was called "the church" by the country people, because they maintained that it was like an apse. An old tarred boat was hauled up on the beach, and the girls had already taken their places in closely packed rows on the thwarts and gunnel; while the youths were encamped on the sands. Hansine and her friends had got seats on the further end of the boat's prow towards the water, which was still rather rough after the wild weather of the previous day. The collection of different-coloured dresses and bright summer hats, looked quite picturesque against the white sand and the deep blue waters touched with sunset tints.

By degrees all the rest of the company arrived and took their places on the slopes. Last of all