It was then that Lamont's gaze fell to the other shore, and perceived in the raw light the altered position of the flags. The quick eyes, watching his movements, noticed the sudden start, so the red lips parted in a request for explanation.
He looked into her happy face, upturned trustfully. 'The flags!' he exclaimed, pointing.
'What! You have seen them before, haven't you?' she asked.
'They should be hanging from the top of the fir,' he explained.
'Oh! I did that,' cried Menotah, joyously.
'You!'
'I was pulling at the ropes—it was only for mischief—when they came tumbling down. They stopped half way, and then I left them alone.'
With careless hand and ignorant heart of happiness, she had set the sign of mourning for the dead.
'Have I done any harm?' she asked wistfully.
'Of course not,' he replied lightly. 'At least not with your hands.' He looked at her in a new manner. Again she felt that sudden strange timidity, which she did not know was the birth of love.