It was an eventful day in the life of two of the party at least. The sun went down, and under the cliffs of Blomidon night soon fell, while out across the Basin glided the lights of ships, and far across the waters of the now quickly falling tide gleamed the bright beacon of Horton Bluff, telling the pilots where the Cornwallis, the Avon and the Gaspereau rivers lie, and to the eye familiar with all the loveliness of the south shore that bright gleam told where stretched the verdant dykeland of the Grand-Pré.
[CHAPTER X.]
AMETHYST.
"Beneath a cliff wrenched from the inner earth,
All seamed and blackened in an ancient war,
I saw rich crystals marking many a scar,
Healed when the world was recent from its birth."
The small party of Americans consisted of Mrs. Forest, her only daughter, Miss Gaston, a schoolmate of Miss Forest, and Mr. Sternly, a young artist and friend of Miss Gaston.
Winslow was glad of the opportunity that had thrown him into the society of these persons. During the evening he became aware of the position in which Mr. Sternly stood in relation to Miss Gaston, which only heightened his interest in that young lady. Her behaviour during their arduous climb up the face of Blomidon had impressed him greatly in her favor, and the good opinion he entertained of her was augmented during the evening he spent at the hotel. The effects of their rough climb were removed, and the changed conditions of their existence as he found them in the private parlor of the hotel, as compared with the adverse circumstances of their first acquaintance, left a strong impression upon his feelings. Their few hours of companionship on the mountain had accelerated their good feeling, and there already existed a very good understanding between the several persons who had thus been so strangely thrown together.
Miss Gaston, while apparently young in years, had lived through a period of life and experiences and changes which had stamped her face with a quiet and almost reserved yet strong maturity. A personality well in hand, a sweet disposition, and a disinterested nature were often disclosed by her word or smile.
At the breakfast table the next morning Winslow learned that Miss Gaston and Mr. Sternly were to accompany him in search of the specimens they had left on the shore.