“Yes,” cried Mrs. Waring-Gaunt. “My brother declared he was quite faint more than an hour ago, and now I am sure he is.”
“Fairly ravenous.”
“But I don't know,” said the girl with serious anxiety on her face. “You see, we have only pork and fried potatoes, and Nora just shot a chicken—only one—and they are always so hungry. But we have plenty of bread and tea. Would you stay?”
“It sounds really very nice,” said Mrs. Waring-Gaunt.
“It would be awfully jolly of you, and I promise not to eat too much,” said the young man. “I am actually faint with hunger, and a cup of tea appears necessary to revive me.”
“Of course, stay,” said the girl with quick sympathy. “We can't give you much, but we can give you something.”
“Oh——ho!”
“O-h-o-o-o-h! O-h-o-o-o-h!” A loud call came from the woods.
“There's Nora,” said Kathleen. “O-o-o-o-o-h! O-o-o-o-o-h!” The girl's answering call was like the winding of a silver horn. “Here she is.”
Out from the woods, striding into the clearing, came a young girl dressed in workmanlike garb in short skirt, leggings and jersey, with a soft black hat on the black tumbled locks. “Hello, Kathleen, dinner ready? I'm famished. Oh, Mrs. Waring-Gaunt, glad to see you.”