"An empty sky, a world of heather,
Purple of foxglove, yellow of broom,
We two among them, wading together,
Stepping out honey, treading perfume."
There was hardly a lonelier spot in all the country round than the
little Black Tarn. The hill in which it lay possessed neither the rocky
grandeur nor the fertile beauty of the neighbouring mountains; it was
covered with grass and bog, not a tree relieved its desolateness, no
grey rocks pushed their picturesque heads through the soil and gave
variety to its shape. The approach to the little lake was defended by
great beds of reeds and rushes, its waters were shallow, and later in
the year full of weeds and water-lilies. But there was a fine view of
the heathery backs of some of the more important mountains, and the
stream that rushed down the Otter's Glen was broad and clear, and had
been the scene of many an exciting chase in grey misty mornings.
To-day the sun was bright and strong, the fresh mountain wind intensely
exhilarating, and the whole party were in the highest spirits and ready
to enjoy every incident of their excursion. They had had their lunch,
as proposed, at the little wayside inn, where the Lesters were well
known and always welcome, and had then set off on their three-miles walk
to the tarn in scattered groups, all at their own pace and with
different views of the distances they meant to effect.
A large division, headed by Mr Ellesmere, had started off at a brisk
pace, intending to get to the top of the hill and see half over the
country, but stragglers began to drop behind.
Mrs Ellesmere thought the tarn would be enough for herself and her
younger children; every one dropped off from Alvar and Virginia, and
left them to their own devices, while Cherry set himself to persuade
Ruth that the best thing to do was to follow the stream, step by step,
along its winding course, heedless of the end.
He could hardly believe in his own good luck as the voices of the others
died away in the distance, and Ruth put her hand into his to be helped
along the slippery stepping-stones planted here and there on the marshy
path-way.
Whatever was missing for Ruth in the perfection of the day's pleasure,
her great dark eyes were bright and soft, and a little flush on her
brown cheeks gave her an additional beauty. She wore a small
closely-fitting hat with a red plume in it, and a tight dark dress; and
thus, with her hand in his, and her bewitching eyes raised to his face,
her image recurred to him in after days.
He had been laughing, and talking, and managing the expedition, but now
alone with her he fell silent, and there was that in his face as he
looked down at her that frightened Ruth a little.
During these past months he had grown less "boyish," and it crossed
Ruth's mind to wonder if he had had any special purpose in getting her
to himself.
"And have you been working very hard?" she said, smiling at him.
"Pretty well," answered Cherry. "I shall be glad when it's all over."
"Won't they ring all the bells at Oakby?"
Cherry laughed.
"I hope they won't have occasion to toll them," he said; "it seems
sometimes much more likely."
"Ah! that is because you get out of spirits. And after all, who cares
except a lot of stupid old tutors?"
"I don't suppose you--any one, would care much."
"Why," said Ruth dexterously; "who judges a man by the result of an
examination? that would be very unfair."
"Then," said Cherry shyly, "if I come to grief I shall go to you for--
for consolation. You won't despise me?"
"Oh, Cherry! I am sure when one knows life one sees that after all
those tests are rather childish. _I_ should not think less of you if
you made a mistake." Perhaps it was characteristic of Cheriton that he
felt more than ever resolved to attain success, and he answered,--
"You ought to think less of me if I did not do my best to avoid
mistakes."
"Now that is worthy of Jack, of whom I am becoming quite afraid. I care
for my friends because--well, because I care for them, and what they do
makes no difference."
"That," said Cherry, "is the sort of backing up that would make a man
able to endure failure till success came. But still one must wish to
bring home the spoils!"
There was a dangerous intensity in Cheriton's accent, and Ruth laughed
gaily.
"Of course, men are always so ambitious. Well, I believe in your
spoils, Cherry, but don't work _too_ hard for them. Don Alvar told
Virginia you would knock yourself up."
"Oh, Alvar! Hard work is a great puzzle to him. No fear of my working
too hard, I get stupefied too quickly, otherwise I should not be here
now; but I can't grudge what is so--so delightful. Take care, that is a
very slippery stone. Won't you give me your hand? There, that's a safe
one."
Ruth was not a great adept at scrambling independently, but she knew how
to be helped with wonderful grace and gratitude. Nor was a solitary
ramble with Cheriton at all an unnatural thing. He had helped her up in
many a difficult place in their boy-and-girl days, and teased her by
pretending that he would not help her down; but now she felt that in
more senses than one she was treading on slippery ground, and guided the
conversation on to the safer topic of Alvar and Virginia.
"Weren't you very much surprised," said Cheriton, "when that came
about?"
"Well, you know," said Ruth, "Virginia is rather transparent. I
couldn't help guessing that she was interested in your brother. She is
so romantic, too, and he is such a cavalier."
"I suppose _you_ always study common sense," said Cherry, who preferred
greatly to talk about Ruth herself than to discuss Virginia.
"I have my own ideas of romance," said Ruth; "but I think I have
outgrown the notion that every one ought to look like a hero."
"And what is your idea of romance?" asked Cherry, gratified by this
remark.
"Self-devotion," said Ruth briefly, giving up everything for the one
object. "That's true romance."
"Self-sacrifice?" said Cherry. "That is too hard work to be romantic
about."
"Not for any one--anything one loved," said Ruth very low, but with
flushing cheeks.
"Then," said Cheriton, "there would be no other self left to sacrifice."
Ruth was startled. Rupert had never so answered her thoughts, had never
given her quite such a look.
Cherry paused and turned round towards her with a desperate impulse
urging him to speak, her face shining with enthusiasm giving him sudden
courage.
"Ah!" exclaimed Ruth, springing across on to a very unsteady stone, "you
are getting too serious! I declare, there's a white butterfly, the
first for the year. And look--oh, look, Cherry, isn't that bit of gorse
pretty against the sky? It's too bad to discuss abstract questions at a
picnic on a spring day."
Cheriton stood still for a moment. He heard the rush of the water, he
saw the shine of the sun, his eyes followed the butterfly as it
fluttered up to the bit of yellow gorse, he could see Ruth smiling and
graceful, beckoning to him to follow her; the glamour and dazzle had
passed, and the day was like any other fine day now.
"I did not mean to discuss _abstract_ questions," he said, with a touch
of offence.
"Ah! but you were getting very deep! Come, don't be cross, Cherry; you
look exactly like Jack at this minute, and _you_ can't make your
eyebrows meet, so don't try."
"Poor Jack, you are very hard on him," said Cherry, recovering himself.
"Will you have a bit of the gorse for your hat, if I cut all the
prickles off?"
"If you cut all the prickles off, what will you leave?" said Ruth.
They had a very charming walk after this, and were much more merry and
talkative than at first. There was a sense of being baffled deep down
in Cherry's heart, but if the rest was surface work it was very
enchanting, and they dawdled and chattered till the time slipped away,
and they saw their party in the distance coming back from the tarn.
"Oh, let us run," said Ruth, "and get into the road before them."
"Come," said Cherry, holding out his hand, and they ran across the short
turf, the sweet, keen air blowing in their faces, a sort of excitement
urging Ruth, who was a lazy little thing usually, to this childish
proceeding.
They came running down into the road just as the whole party came back
from the tarn, crying out on them for their laziness.
"We have been looking for you," said Virginia, whose hat was daintily
wreathed with stag moss. "Alvar and I tried to find you."
"Oh, yes, you were miserable without us of course," said Cherry.
"Hallo, Rupert! where on earth did you spring from?"
"I came over for a ball at the Molyneuxes; they have taken Blackrigg
Hall, you know. I must get back by the first thing to-morrow. I heard
of your picnic from some of the people about, and came to see if I could
fall in with you."
"You are just in time to come back with us to the inn," said Mr
Ellesmere; "we shall have no more than time to get a cup of tea and be
off for the train."
"I thought you would not come," whispered Ruth to Rupert as they all
walked back together.
"So it seemed; what were you doing with Cherry?" said Rupert sharply.
Ruth looked at him with reproach in her eyes, but they had no chance
then of obtaining private words. Rupert looked savage, but directed his
efforts to sitting next her in the omnibus which was to convey most of
the party to the station.
"Don't spoil these few minutes," whispered Ruth imploringly as she
looked up in his displeased face. "Could I let people guess how I was
longing for you? I thought you would have been here sooner."
"Cherry is always to the fore," said Rupert with an amount of ill-temper
for which Ruth could not quite account. She felt profoundly miserable,
so wretched that she could hardly keep the tears out of her eyes. She
had looked forward for the last day or two to this poor little meeting
as such a light in the darkness, and now some one spoke to Rupert and
some one else to herself. There was no chance of making it up--if they
were to part so! Oh, it was hard! Virginia could say as much as she
liked to _her_ lover. Then Ruth saw that Alvar was not in the omnibus,
nor Cheriton either, and hoped that the latter fact might assuage
Rupert's jealousy. Perhaps he felt ashamed of it, for as they neared
Blackrigg she felt his hand clasp hers, and he whispered, "Forgive me."
In the meanwhile Cheriton, having lingered a moment to make payments and
final arrangements, was left for the "trap," a very nondescript vehicle,
which had brought Bob and Jack from the station. To his surprise he
found that Alvar instead of one of the younger ones was his companion.
"Why, how's this?" he said.
"I thought that I would wait for you. Is it not my turn?" said Alvar,
who sometimes liked to claim an equality with the others.
"I'm afraid you'll get wet," said Cherry; "they've all the plaids, and
it is going to rain. These mountain showers come up so quickly."
"I do not mind the rain," said Alvar. Cheriton, however, mindful of
Alvar's short experience of the cold, driving rain of the country, made
him put a dilapidated rug that was in the carriage over his shoulders,
and drove on as fast as he could, through mist and wind, till about
half-way to Blackrigg there was a great jolt,--off came the wheel of the
trap, which turned over, and they were both thrown out on to the high
bank beside the road.
Cherry felt Alvar's arm round him before he had time to get up, and
heard him speaking fast in Spanish, and then, "You are not hurt, my
brother?"
"Oh, no--no. Nor you? That's all right; but we're in a nice fix. No
getting to Blackrigg to-night. Here's the wheel off."
The bank was soft and muddy; and they were quite unhurt, and after a
minute, Cherry hailed a man passing by, and asked him to take the horse
back to the inn, proposing to Alvar to try to catch the train at
Stonybeach, an intermediate station, to which he knew a short cut.
"Can you make a ran for it?" he said.
"Yes--oh, yes, I can run," said Alvar. "This is an adventure."
It was such a run across country as reminded Cheriton of his days of
paper-chases, and was probably a new experience to Alvar, who remarked
breathlessly, as they neared the station,--
"I can run--when it is necessary; but I do not understand your races for
amusement."
Cheriton made no answer, as they entered the station and found that
after all a neighbouring market had delayed the train, and that they had
still some minutes to wait.
"That's too bad," said Cherry, as strength and breath fairly failed him,
and he sat hastily down on a bench, to his own surprise and annoyance,
completely exhausted.
"All! you are too tired!" exclaimed Alvar, coming to him; and with a
kindness and presence of mind for which few had given him credit, he
made Cherry rest, and got the porter to fetch some water for him (the
little roadside station afforded nothing else), till after a few minutes
of dizzy faintness and breathlessness, Cherry began to revive into a
state of indignation with himself, and gratitude to his brother, the
expression of which sentiments Alvar silenced.
"Hush! I will not have you talk yet! You must rest till the train
comes. Lean back against me. No--you have not made a confounded fool
of yourself, when you could not help it."
"I suppose the fall shook me," said Cherry, presently. "Hark! there is
the train. Now, Alvar, don't you say a word of this. I am all right
now."
He stood up as the train came creeping and groaning into the station,
and Jack made signs to them out of the window. The train was crowded,
and the rest of the party were farther back. Jack exclaimed at their
appearance, and while they were explaining their adventure, Alvar got
some wine for Cheriton out of a hamper that had been brought for the
luncheon.
"Why, Alvar, you are more than half a doctor," said Cherry, as he took
it. "I'm all right again now."
Jack scanned him a little anxiously. "You had no business to be knocked
up," he said briefly. "You should not have tried to run when you were
so out of condition."
"If I am a doctor, Jack," said Alvar, "I will not have my patient
scolded. He is better now, are you not, _Cherito mio_? And we are not
fit to see the ladies. See, I am covered with mud," and Alvar
endeavoured to brush the mud off his hat, and to make his wet clothes
look a little less disreputable.
Cherry put a great coat on, as a measure both of prudence and
respectability. He had been desperately desirous of catching the train
for the sake of a few more words with Ruth; for on the next day he was
obliged to return to Oxford. They were all to part at Hazelby, where
their respective carriages awaited them.
Ruth had forgotten his very existence as he hurried up to her in the
crowded station; for Rupert had been forced to go on by the train. She
remembered now that her walk with him had made Rupert angry, and hardly
able to control her voice to speak at all, she wished him a cold, hasty
good-night, and sprang into the carriage without giving him time for a
word.
Cheriton was both angry and miserable; he stood back silently, while
Alvar put Virginia into the carriage, and excused himself gaily for his
muddy coat. Dick Seyton ran up at the last minute, and the Lesters set
out on their six-miles drive in an open break, under waterproofs and
umbrellas, through the pouring rain. The twins disputed under their
breath, and Jack lectured Cheriton on the amount of exercise necessary
during a period of hard reading.
Cherry, for once, answered him sharply, and Alvar, as was usually the
case when his _Geschwistern_ quarrelled, wondered silently, both how
they could be so un-courteous to each other, and how they could excite
themselves so much about nothing. But there had been something in the
manner of his kindness and attention that dwelt pleasantly in Cheriton's
memory of a day which for many reasons he had afterwards cause to look
back upon with pain.