After that one growl, Wolf remained silent, and Peggy did not move as the footsteps drew near. But when they suddenly stopped, the little girl, still holding the dog by the collar, turned her face, with an inquiring expression upon it, towards the spot where she knew some one—a woman, she thought, from the sound of the footsteps—to be.
"Can you tell me, if this is the way to Lower Brimley Farm?" asked a somewhat patronising voice—the voice of a lady, Peggy's sharp ears informed her at once.
"Yes," the little girl answered. "You will come within sight of the house, I know, when you turn the next corner. Are you going to call on Mrs. Tiddy? Perhaps you are a friend of hers? She is not at home; she has driven in to Penzance."
"And I have driven from Penzance. But I have no acquaintance with Mrs. Tiddy—the mistress at the farm, I presume? I have no desire to see her, but I want to have a look at her flowers. I am told the daffodils and narcissi at Lower Brimley are especially fine. People talk so much nowadays of the flower-farms of Cornwall that I am curious to see one."
The speaker—a tall, thin, erect old lady, with snow-white hair and very sharp dark eyes, looked carelessly at the child, and proceeded to question her: "Do you live here? Are you the farmer's daughter?"
"No; I am no relation to either Mr. or Mrs. Tiddy, although they are so very kind to me," Peggy answered simply. "My home is in London; I am only here on a visit. I am sure Mr. Tiddy will let you look at his flowers; he is very proud of them, and no wonder, for they are so beautiful! He has gone across the meadow, but he will return directly. Perhaps you can see him?"
"Do you mean that big man in breeches and leggings?"
"Yes, that's Mr. Tiddy. I promised to wait here with Wolf—that's the dog—till he came back. Is he far off? Is he coming this way?"
"Cannot you use your eyes, child?" began the lady, a trifle impatiently. Then she paused abruptly, and scanned the little girl's face with keener scrutiny.
"I cannot see," Peggy responded, "because I am blind."