So far, so good. They were certainly trespassing, but they considered
that their errand justified the deed. Lenox had brought his hand camera,
and hoped to get a snap-shot of the old place to take back to America to
show his father. He had ascertained that no picture post cards of it
were obtainable in the village. They could see the twisted chimneys
rising over the top of a thick grove of trees and shrubs, so they turned
their steps in that direction. Over some grassy park-like land they
tramped, where rabbits were still scuttling about, and a few tame deer
were grazing; then through a thicket of trees and under a belt of
ornamental shrubs. All at once, as they scrambled from the shade of some
rhododendrons, they caught their first view of the Manor. It was a
glorious old mansion, built partly in half-timber and partly in grey
stone, with an embattled tower for entrance, and a stone bridge crossing
the moat that encircled the walls. The morning sun shone direct on its
mullioned, diamond-paned windows, its twisted chimney stalks, ivy-clad
walls, and smooth, green stretch of water. Nothing could have been more
charming for a photograph, and, to make the picture absolutely perfect,
a pair of stately swans came sailing along the moat. Lenox pulled his
camera from its case, ventured forth from the cover of the bushes, and
began to focus. Diana followed closely at his elbow. They were brimful
of excitement. Here they were actually facing the "ancestral home" of
the Clifford family.
"Don't you wish you lived here?" sighed Diana.
"Rather! But no such luck!"
"If the old lady has no children perhaps you'll turn out to be the
heir," said Diana wistfully.
"She has nephews," said Lenox, dashing her hopes. "Besides, we must be a
very far-off branch of the family tree. It's a hundred years since we
settled in America. Now don't nudge me. I've just got the thing
focused--swans and all."
Lenox pressed the button, and turned the film on to No. 2, then looked
about him.
"I'm going to take the whole half-dozen," he announced. "Let's move on
and get a different view."
There was not a soul to be seen. With the exception of the swans, the
inhabitants of the Manor did not seem to be early risers. Lenox and
Diana grew bolder, and ventured nearer. By degrees they got right to the
edge of the moat. The view here was beautiful, for it took in the bridge
and the embattled tower, with the coat of arms over the doorway. It was
exactly what they wanted to carry home to America. Lenox snapped it with
huge satisfaction, including the swans, which luckily swam into the
scene at the psychological moment.
"I'd give worlds to be able to go inside and explore," said Diana. "I
wish I could make myself invisible. D'you think we dare just toddle
across the bridge, and perhaps peep in through a window? There's nobody
watching. O-o-o-oh!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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