They had left the house in good time for church, so they
needed not to hurry; and they went leisurely along the road, now
and then passing some country person whom they knew, and with
whom they exchanged a kindly, placid greeting. But presently, to
Ruth's dismay, she heard a step behind, coming at a rapid pace, a
peculiar clank of rather high-heeled boots, which gave a springy
sound to the walk, that she had known well long ago. It was like
a nightmare, where the evil dreaded is never avoided, never
completely shunned, but is by one's side at the very moment of
triumph in escape. There he was by her side; and there was still
a quarter of a mile intervening between her and the church: but
even yet she trusted that he had not recognised her.
"I have changed my mind, you see," said he quietly. "I have some
curiosity to see the architecture of the church; some of these
old country churches have singular bits about them. Mr. Bradshaw
kindly directed me part of the way; but I was so much puzzled by
'turns to the right' and 'turns to the left,' that I was quite
glad to espy your party."
That speech required no positive answer of any kind; and no
answer did it receive. He had not expected a reply. He knew, if
she were Ruth, she could not answer any indifferent words of his;
and her silence made him more certain of her identity with the
lady by his side.
"The scenery here is of a kind new to me; neither grand, wild,
nor yet marked by high cultivation; and yet it has great charms.
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