'Well, I declare! I thought he would have come with a coach and outriders—in state, you know——'
'What for?' said he impassively. 'He had no luggage, I suppose, but a bag and a waterproof. It's different in the autumn, of course, when all the gentlemen come up, and there's luggage and the rifles and the cartridge-boxes—then they have to have a brake or a waggonette.'
'And that was Lord Ailine,' she said, half to herself; and there was no further speaking between them until they had gone past the Doctor's cottage and over the bridge and were some distance up 'the strath that Mudal laves'—to quote her companion's own words.
'Now,' said he, as he stooped and began to put together the slender grilse-rod, 'we'll just let ye try a cast or two on this bit of open grass—and we'll no trouble with a fly as yet.'
He fastened on the reel, got the line through the rings, and drew out a few yards' length. Then he gave her the rod; showed her how to hold it; and then stood just behind her, with his right hand covering hers.
'Now,' said he, 'keep your left hand just about as steady as ye can—and don't jerk—this way—
Of course it was really he who was making these few preliminary casts, and each time the line ran out and fell straight and trembling on the grass.
'Now try it yourself.'
At first she made a very bad job of it—especially when she tried to do it by main force; the line came curling down not much more than the rod's length in front of her, and the more she whipped the closer became the curls.
'I'm afraid I don't catch on quite,' she said, unconsciously adopting one of her father's phrases.