Page 126 - The snake's pass

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114 THE SNAKE'S PASS. —
There she stopped; this simple interrogation as to the
pursuits of a stranger evidently struck her as unniaidenly,
for she blushed and turned away.
I did not know what to to say ; but youth has its own
wisdom—which is sincerity—and I blurted out :
" In reality I was doing nothing ; I was only trying to
pass the time."
There was a query in the glance of the glorious blue-
black eyes and in the lifting of the ebon lashes ; and I
went on, conscious as I proceeded that the ground before
me was marked "Dangerous" :
" The fact is, I did not want to come up here till after
three, and the time seemed precious long, I can tell
you."
" Indeed But you have missed the best part of the
,
view. Between one and two o'clock, when the sun strikes
in between the islands—Cusheen there to the right, and
Mishear—the view is the finest of the whole day."
" Oh, yes," I answered, " I know now what I have
missed."
Perhaps my voice betrayed me. I certainly felt full of
bitter regret ; but there was no possibility of mistaking
the smile which rose to her eyes and faded into the blush
that followed the reception of the thought.
There are some things which a woman cannot misunder-
stand or fail to understand ; and surely my regret and
its cause were within the category.
It thrilled through me, with a sweet intoxication, to
realize that she was not displeased. Man is predatory