For a moment Margot stood motionless, an expression of wounded pride
clouding the young rounded face, then very slowly descended the
staircase, traversed the length of the "lobby," and stood outside the
door, looking anxiously to right and left.
There he was, a strong, well-built figure in knickerbockers and Norfolk
coat striding rapidly up the hill path to the right,--trying, no doubt,
to put as much distance as possible between himself and the
objectionable girl who seemed ever to be appearing when she was not
wanted. For a long minute Margot stood gazing miserably ahead, then
turning resolutely to the left, came face to face with the Chieftain
returning from the village with his pockets bulging with papers.
His sudden appearance at this moment of depression had a peculiar
significance to the girl's mind. Doubt crystallised into resolution;
with a rapid beating of the heart she determined to grasp her courage in
both hands, and boldly make the plunge which she had been meditating for
some days past.