'She had a bunch of wild-flowers in one hand; the other grasped the ribbons of her tiny hat, which she was swinging to and fro, as she had come through the wood bareheaded, and was evidently not far from her home. '"Pardon me," said I, lifting my cap, "but I am afraid that I am rather a trespasser here." '"Not at all, sir; the river is free to everyone." '"But I have been almost ashore, and is not that presuming too far?" I asked again, only for the pleasure of conversing with her. '"Oh no," she replied, with a charming smile. '"But I have disturbed you, I fear." '"How?" '"I heard you singing--need I say, how sweetly!" '"An old song, quoted from some old book, but the melody far surpasses the words." '"Yes, as sung by your voice," said I, gallantly. '"What a pretty boat yours is! Have you rowed far?" '"All the way from the bridge." '"You must be weary, otherwise I would ask you----" 'She blushed and paused. '"I am not at all weary, and am every way at your service." '"Oh, thanks; will you row to the other side, and bring me some of the lovely--" 'She mentioned some peculiar kind of fern. '"Permit me to row you across, and you can select them for yourself." 'Her eyes sparkled with pleasure, but she hesitated. '"You mistrust a stranger," said I; "and perhaps your papa might be displeased--" '"Poor papa is dead; but mamma would, I know, be angry. She is full of strict and strange notions; thus I can never venture far alone." '"But the distance is so short--" '"And she is always busy at this hour." '"Come, then." 'She confidingly put her little hand in mine, sprang with charming grace lightly into the cushioned seat astern, and exclaimed with girlish delight: '"What a lovely boat! How delicious this is! Though we live only a mile from the Tay, I have never had a row on it." '"Permit me to give you a little one now," said I, assuming my sculls, and shot the boat out into mid-stream. I regarded her beauty with growing admiration and pleasure; but my Lancer experiences caused the thought to occur, could she be so innocent, so utterly guileless as she seemed? 'Some ferns were speedily selected, and uprooted by my knife, also some magnificent water-lilies from a pool under the trees; and, as she seemed thoroughly to enjoy herself upon the sunlit river, I pulled her to and fro, near the silver birches where I first met her, and she chatted away to me as if she had known me for months. That she was a lady in birth and breeding was indisputable; her accent was highly cultivated and her manners refined, and everything about the girl betokened gentle blood; but there was an artlessness combined with girlish abandon about her, that made me curiously and uncharitably suspicious, while deeply and suddenly interested in her. Thus I said, after a pause, while letting the boat drift with the current, and keeping the blades of my sculls just out of the water: