"Well, what is that?" said Julia, not liking the inference they were coming to.
"That is a little fern that loves the wet. It grows by waterfalls—those are its homes. It grows close to the fall, where it will be constantly watered by the spray from it; sometimes this little half-brother it has, the Oak fern, is found there along with it. They are elegant species."
"It must be nice to go to the waterfalls and climb up to get them," said Julia. "What do you call these little wet beauties, Mr. Rhys?"
"Polypodies."
"Polypodies! Now, Mr. Rhys,—O what is this? This is prettiest of all."
"Yes, one of the very prettiest. I found that in a cave, a wet cave, by the sea. That is the sort of home it likes."
"In Wales?"
"In Wales I have found it, and elsewhere; in the south of England; but always by the sea; in places where I have seen a great many other beautiful things."
"By the sea, Mr. Rhys? Why I have been there, and I did not see anything but the waves and the sand and the rocks."
"You did not know where to look."