By Berwen Banks

She reached the crowded field, and ought to have made her way into the

front rows near the platform where she might easily have found a seat,

but Valmai was shy and retiring, and seeing there was no settled place

for her, kept on the outskirts of the crowd, and at last found herself

on the piece of uncultivated ground which bordered the corner of the

Vicar's long meadow. She seated herself on the heather at the top of

the bank, the sea wind blowing round her, and tossing and tumbling the

golden curls which fell so luxuriantly under her hat.

All feeling of loneliness passed away as she sat there among the

harebells and heather, for Valmai was young, and life was all before

her, with its sweet hopes and imaginings. She was soon listening with

deep interest to the eloquent and burning words which fell from the

lips of the preacher; and with the harebells nodding at her, the golden

coltsfoot staring up into the sky, the laughing babies sprawling about,

was it any wonder that sadness fled away, and joy and love sang a paean

of thankfulness in her heart?

It was at this moment that Cardo caught sight of her. Unconsciously,

he had been seeking her in every square yard which his eye could reach,

and here she was close to him all the time. The discovery awoke a

throb of pleasure within him, and with a flush upon his dark face he

rose and made his way towards her. She was absently turning over the

leaves of her little Welsh hymn-book as he approached, and smiling

unconsciously at a toddling child who was making journeys of discovery

around the furze bushes. A quick, short "Oh!" escaped her as she saw

him approach, her face brightened up--yes, certainly she was glad.

Cardo saw it in the mantling blush and the pleased smile as he found a

seat on the grass beside her. She placed her hand in his with a

whispered word of greeting, for it would not do to speak aloud in that

quiet concourse of people.

"Where have you been?" he asked, at last.

"At home," she whispered. "Why?"

"Because I hoped you would be out--"

Valmai shook her head as a farmer's wife looked round at her

reprovingly. Cardo attempted another remark, but she only smiled with

her finger on her lips.

"This is unendurable," he thought; but he was obliged to be satisfied

with the pleasure of sitting beside her until the long sermon was over,

and the crowd rose en masse with ejaculations of delight at the

moving eloquence of the preacher.

"As good as ever he was!" "Splendid!" "Did you hear that remark about

the wrong key?" "Oh! telling!" And amongst the murmer of approval and

enthusiasm Valmai and Cardo rose. For a moment the former looked

undecided, and he read her thoughts.