lifted his hat as he opened the wicket, and bade his uncle good-morning.
Me he did not for the moment see.

"Miss Hope is not up yet, I suppose?" he said. "I trust she is none the
worse for her tumble over the weir."

"Our little water-nymph is here to answer for herself," said the Major.
"The roses in her cheeks seem all the brighter for their wetting."

George Strickland turned smilingly towards me, and held out his hand. "I
am very glad to find that you have suffered so little from your
accident," he said. "When I fished you out of the river last night you
looked so death-like that I was afraid we should not be able to bring
you round without difficulty."

Tears stood in my eyes as I took his hand. "Oh, sir, how brave, how
noble it was of you to act as you did! You saved my life at the risk of
your own; and how can I ever thank you enough?"

A bright colour came into his cheek as I spoke. "My dear child, you must
not speak in that way," he said. "What I did was a very ordinary thing.
Anyone else in my place would have done precisely the same. I must not
claim more merit than is due for an action so simple."

"To you it may seem a simple thing to do, but I cannot forget that it
was my life that you saved."

"What an old-fashioned princess it is!" said the Major. "Why, it must
have been born a hundred years ago, and have had a fairy for its
godmother. But here comes Deborah to tell us that breakfast is ready.
Toasted bacon is better than pretty speeches; so come along with you,
and make believe that you have known each other for a twelvemonth at
least."

Rose Cottage was a tiny place, and there were not wanting proofs that
the Major's income was commensurate with the scale of his establishment.
A wise economy had to be a guiding rule in Major Strickland's life,
otherwise Mr. George's college expenses would never have been met, and
that young gentleman would not have had a proper start in life. Deborah
was the only servant that the little household could afford; but then
the Major himself was gardener, butler, valet and page in one. Thus--he
cleaned the knives in a machine of his own invention; he brushed his own
clothes; he lacquered his own boots, and at a pinch could mend them. He
dug and planted his own garden, and grew enough potatoes and greenstuff
to serve his little family the year round. In a little paddock behind
his garden the Major kept a cow; in the garden itself he had
half-a-dozen hives; while