Page:The Bondman; A New Saga (IA bondmannewsaga00cain).djvu/80

 "No—I don't know—yes, I believe so. Yes, yes."

"And do all the people confess to them—young and old—both sexes—girls as well, you know—everybody?" she said.

"Everybody," said he.

There was a moment's silence, and then she threw her lace apron over her face and said, "Good gracious! let's hope you'll never come back as vicar of this parish, any way."

For another moment Sunlocks was silent, all but with his eyes, and they were eloquent of rapture. "Greeba," he said softly, looking up, "would it be so very terrible to confess to me instead of to a stranger?"

"Why, goodness me! you are only a boy," she said.

That stroke of womanly dignity dashed his courage for a moment; but true it is that there are more ways to a girl's heart than to a capital town, and presently he said, dragging at the tendrils of honeysuckle as he spoke, "I wouldn't so much mind confessing to you, Greeba."

From one corner of her apron she shot a glance at him, half coy, half arch, altogether bewitching, and said, "And pray, sir, what would you confess?"

"Come down and I'll tell you—won't you come?—come now," he said coaxingly. "Yes, yes!"

"No, no," she answered. "But, if you must practise confession, just confess to me where I am."

A smile like sunshine lit up his young face in the moonlight, with its wealth of flaxen hair falling back.

"Greeba," he whispered, "Greeba"——

"Well, begin."

"How beautiful you look to-night, Greeba!"

"You silly boy," she said; but her smile belied her words, and she hung her head at the sweet praise.

"Greeba"——

"Stop, stop, stop!" she cried in a hushed voice, "there's somebody listening."

He swung about on the gravel with fire in his face in an instant, and said "Where?"

"There," she answered with bated breath; "look!"

She pointed to a hedge a few paces away, and true enough a white face was peering over. Sunlocks made for it in four swinging strides and with uplifted fist, but before he could reach it another trill of merry laughter came from behind him, and the window was shut down with a bang.

Greeba was gone—the listener was a calf.