"Where've ye been at this early hour of the night?"
"I been picking berries," faltered Nettie, trying vainly to steady her voice.
"Oh, you have, heh?"
Her cheeks were redder than any berries that ever grew and her eyes shone star bright. Her white bosom rose and fell with the thrill of her late adventure and her sudden fear.
"Pickin' berries in the night, huh? You're smart, ain't you?"
"Oh, yes, it was light as day you see and I don't mind——"
"Let's see what you got."
He reached out seemingly for the basket, but his hand closed over the handle upon hers. Gripping it tightly with his other hand he lifted the cover and peered into the empty basket.
"Let go my hand!" she cried in a stifled voice. "You're hurtin' me!"
For answer he possessed himself of the other and steadily drew her nearer and nearer to him. She struggled and twisted in his grasp, suppressing her desire to scream for fear that her mistress might hear. But, in fact, it was the clip clop of Mrs. Langdon's loose bedroom slippers on the stairs that brought her release.