"A 'blue' for the Mishteer!" shouted somebody to Siencyn, who presided at the tap. And Hugh drained his cup, and placed his cake in his pocket. Having wished Siencyn "Priodas dda," and made a few joking remarks to the men, who had soon recovered from their momentary silence, he made his way into the penisha, where Gwladys Price and her mother were coming to an end of their tea and light cakes, Dye Pentraeth having deserted them for the more potent charms of the beer barrel.
"Come," said Hugh, "this is more in my line; a cup of tea, Esther!" and he took a vacant seat next to Gwladys, who blushed at the honour, and handed him a plate of light cakes.
"How fortunate for me to find this seat vacant, Gwladys, unless, indeed, thou wert keeping it for someone else."
"No, no, indeed," stammered the girl, for her tender conscience told her she had not been without hope that Ivor might come in and fill it; but he had been pounced upon by a fat farm wife, who kept him in attendance upon her and her daughter—the little tricks of society not being confined to one class.
Hugh made most of his time. His sparkling black eyes and ready wit, together with a certain earnestness of manner and a superior education to that of his neighbours, gave an indefinable charm to his conversation, which the simple women around him were not slow to feel, though they could not have explained it in words.
Gwladys, amused and flattered, was soon chatting and laughing unrestrainedly, her face glowing with the fun and excitement of the occasion. Deep below the surface was the unconfessed longing for Ivor's presence, and when at last he entered the room, and took his seat on the opposite side of the table, she found it difficult to keep up her interest in her companion's conversation.
Hugh Morgan's experiences of life being limited to one small village, in the shelter of a lonely bay, he had no great range of subjects upon which to dilate; but his natural good taste and intelligence made him aware that the daily occupation of the sail-shed had better be kept in the background, and he confined himself to the fairs and eisteddfods of the neighbourhood, and amused Gwladys by a description of a competition in which he had been adjudicator, where the three competitors had quarrelled so violently on the platform, that they had to be turned out of the meeting.
"Oh, anwl! I wish I had been there," she said.
"I was there," said Ivor. "I am sorry, Mishteer, to call you away, but Captain Roberts wants to see you about those sails which were torn so much in the last gale. Will I take him a message for you?"
"No, no," said Hugh, rising at once; "business must be attended to. Come and take care of Gwladys while I am gone." And Ivor, nothing loth, took his place beside her.