Diana hesitated; glanced around her. It was manifest that this was an exceptional meeting of the society, and not for the purposes of work chiefly. Here and there needles were suspended in lingering fingers, while their owners made subdued comments to each other or used their eyes for purposes of information getting. One or two had even left work, and were going to the back of the house, through the hall, to see the garden. Diana not very unwillingly dropped her sewing, and followed her conductor down the steps and over the meadow. CHAPTER XV. CATECHIZING. "The sun isn't hot, through all this cloud," said Gertrude, "so I don't mind it. We'll get into the shade under the elm yonder." "There is no cloud," said Diana. "No cloud? What is it then? _Something_ has come over the sun." "No, it's haze." "What is haze?" "I don't know. We have it in Indian summer, and sometimes in October, like this." "Isn't it hot?" said Gertrude; "and last week we were having big fires. It's such queer weather. Now this shade is nice." Under one or two of the elm canopies along the verge of the little river some rustic seats had been fixed. Gertrude sat down. Diana stood, looking about her. The dreamy beauty through which she had ridden that afternoon was all round her still; and the meadow and the scattered elms, with the distant softly-rounded hills, were one of New England's combinations, in which the gentlest beauty and the most characteristic strength meet and mingle. But what was more yet to Diana, she was among Evan's haunts. Here _he_ was at home. There seemed to her fancy to be a consciousness of him in the silent trees and river; as if they would say if they could,--as if they were saying mutely,--"We know him--we know him; and we are old friends of his. We could tell you a great deal about him." "Elmfield is a pretty place," said Gertrude. She had been eyeing her companion while Diana was receiving the confidences of the trees. "Lovely!" "If it didn't grow so cold in winter," said the young lady, shrugging her airy shoulders. "I like the cold." "I should like to have it always hot enough to wear muslin dresses. Come, sit down. Evan put these seats here." But Diana continued standing. "Did you hear that woman scolding because he don't stay here and give up his army life?" "She takes her own view of it," said Diana. "Do _you_ think he ought to give up everything to take care of his grandfather?" "I daresay his grandfather likes to have him do as he is doing." "But it must be awfully hard, mustn't it, for them to have him so far away, and fighting the Indians?" "Is he fighting the Indians?" Diana asked quietly; though she made the words quiet, she knew, by sheer force of necessity. But quiet they were; slow, and showing no eagerness; while her pulse had made one mad jump, and then seemed to stand still.