She stared at him, and was again embarrassed.
“I forgot that!” she said, in deep chagrin. “But wait, please!” She looked around her. “I think––I know what you mean! It’s higher up than the marks on the trees there, surely it is!”
“Tell me about it!”
“It’s only a little way from here. There’s a narrow, clear space all along between the forest and the cliff, where the grass grows high. But there’s one place––I missed it before, when I was just looking for deer––where the cliff––How can I describe it? It sinks in, and there’s a slope up to it, solid rock. And at the top of the slope I saw a black hole, and got off my pony to look in. The slope is easy to climb. Tuesday climbed it with me. The mouth of the cave is partly hidden by a rock that sticks out so that you can see the opening only from one side. The entrance is no bigger than the door of your stable. I was afraid at first, but––”
“You thought of your miracle,” he suggested, with a smile.
“I knew something must be done, so I held my rifle ready, thinking it might be a wild beasts’ den, and listened a minute, and went in. There’s the big cave first, as large as the sitting-room and kitchen together at Cousin Seth’s, and there’s a smaller one at the side, with a narrow opening between them. The small one has an opening outside too, just big enough for me to squeeze through, and look out on the forest below.”
“Was it cold in there? Did the wind blow through?”
“No, I think not. It seemed very dry and warm.”
He looked at her intently, and so strangely that she blushed again, she knew not why.