“I think so, Mr. Bryce. I copied it from Colonel Pennington's niece, Miss Sumner.”
“Oh,” he replied briefly. “You've met her, have you? I didn't know she was in Sequoia still.”
“She's been away, but she came back last week. I went to the Valley of the Giants last Saturday afternoon—”
Bryce interrupted. “You didn't tell my father about the tree that was cut, did you?” he demanded sharply.
“No.”
“Good girl! He mustn't know. Go on, Moira. I interrupted you.”
“I met Miss Sumner up there. She was lost; she'd followed the old trail into the timber, and when the trees shut out the sun, she lost all sense of direction. She was terribly frightened and crying when I found her and brought her home.”
“Well, I swan, Moira! What was she doing in our timber?”
“She told me that once, when she was a little girl, you had taken her for a ride on your pony up to your mother's grave. And it seems she had a great curiosity to see that spot again and started out without saying a word to any one. Poor dear! She was in a sad state when I found her.”
“How fortunate you found her! I've met Miss Sumner three or four times. That was when she first came to Sequoia. She's a stunning girl, isn't she?”