"From a very humble petitioner," he continued (and Käthchen began to consider him a most unabashed young man—so easily and lightly he spoke), "one who has no English, and she has asked me to interfere and tell you all about her case. She was talking to me just now; but when she caught sight of you she fled off into the woods, like a hare."
"Why?" said Mary, coldly.
"Because she is afraid of you," said he. "She thinks you are a friend of the Troich Bheag Dhearg—the Little Red Dwarf—as they call Mr. Purdie about here. And that is quite enough to frighten Anna——"
"Anna?" said Mary. "Do you mean Anna Chlannach—the half-witted girl?"—and as she guessed the simple and harmless truth an indescribable confusion appeared on her forehead and in the self-consciousness of her eyes.
"Yes," said he, apparently not noticing. "Anna says that you spoke to her once; but she has no English, and could not tell you anything; and she saw Purdie with you, and ran away. So much I made out, though she talks rather wildly, and mysteriously as well."
"Oh, but Mr. Ross," said Mary, with some eagerness, "I wish you would tell Anna Chlannach that she has no reason to be afraid of me—surely not! Why, she was the first creature in the place who seemed a little friendly. Will you tell her I will do everything for her I can; and that she must come and see me; and there will be no fear of her meeting Mr. Purdie; and Barbara can be the interpreter between us? Will you tell her that? Could you find her now?"
"There's no one in this neighbourhood who could find Anna Chlannach if she wants to be hidden," he said, with a bit of a laugh that showed beautiful teeth—as Käthchen remarked. "But I shall come across her some other time, and of course, if you grant her petition, she must go to you and thank you."
"What is her petition?" said Mary, who had recovered from her momentary confusion, and was now prepared to be entirely bland and magnanimous—which, indeed, was her natural mood.
"Well," said he, "Purdie—Mr. Purdie—has been threatening to have her shut up in some asylum for imbeciles—so they say—-and Anna is in a great state about the possibility of her being taken away from among the people she knows. I don't think it is true, myself; indeed I doubt whether he could do anything of the kind, without the consent of her relatives, and she has got none now; but I am not quite sure what the law is; anyhow, what I imagine to be the case is simply that Mr. Purdie has been making use of these threats to spite the people with whom Anna Chlannach is a favourite. For she is a general favourite—there is no harm in the girl——"
"Why, so Barbara said!" Mary exclaimed.