Laura surveyed him. He had a square, full chin and an upper lip slightly underhung. His straight fair hair straggled loose over his brow. He carried his head and shoulders well, and was altogether a finely built, rather magnificent young fellow, marred by a general expression that was half clumsy, half insolent. "That's it," she said, in answer to his question--"I'm staying at Bannisdale, and I came up to see you all.--Where's Cousin Elizabeth?" "Mother, do you mean?--Oh! she's at church." "Why aren't you there, too?" He opened his blue eyes, taken aback by the cool clearness of her voice. "Well, I can't abide the parson--if you want to know. Shall I put up your pony?" "But perhaps you've not had your sleep out?" said Laura, politely interrogative. He reddened, and came forward with a slow and rather shambling gait. "I don't know what else there is to do up here of a Sunday morning," he said, with a boyish sulkiness, as he began to lead the pony towards the stables opposite. "Besides, I was up half the night seeing to one of the cows." "You don't seem to have many neighbours," said Laura, as she walked beside him. "There's rooks and crows" (which he pronounced broadly--"craws")--"not much else, I can tell you. Shall I take the pony out?" "Please. I'm afraid you'll have to put up with me for hours!" She looked at him merrily, and he returned the scrutiny. She wore the same thin black dress in which Helbeck had admired her the day before, and above it a cloth jacket and cap, trimmed with brown fur. Mason was dazzled a moment by the milky whiteness of the cheek above the fur, by the brightness of the eyes and hair; then was seized with fresh shyness, and became extremely busy with the pony. "Mother'll be back in about an hour," he said gruffly. "Goodness! what'll you do with me till then?" They both laughed, he with an embarrassment that annoyed him. He was not at all accustomed to find himself at a disadvantage with a good-looking girl. "There's a good fire in the house, anyway," he said; "you'll want to warm yourself, I should think, after driving up here." "Oh! I'm not cold--I say, what jolly horses!" For Mason had thrown open the large worm-eaten door of the stables, and inside could be seen the heads and backs of two cart-horses, huge, majestic creatures, who were peering over the doors of their stalls, as though they had been listening to the conversation. Their owner glanced at them indifferently. "Aye, they're not bad. We bred 'em three years ago, and they've taken more'n one prize already. I dare say old Daffady, now, as looks after them, would be sorry to part with them." "I dare say he would. But why should he part with them?" The young man hesitated. He was shaking down a load of hay for the pony, and Laura was leaning against the door of the stall watching his performance. "Well, I reckon we shan't be farmin here all our lives," he said at last with some abruptness. "Don't you like it then?"