d to wash off the blood.

Not till she had reached the well did Martina become fully alive to the
danger she had escaped. She felt the deadly peril she had been in, and
from which Adam had rescued her. As she wept, admiration mingled with
her tears, and heartfelt gratitude to the bold and intrepid young man.
At dinner-time she heard his mother say to Adam, "You are the most
silly, good-for-nothing creature in the world, to go and risk your
life, to save that of a stupid maid."

"I'll never do it again," answered Adam.

"I rather think," said his father, with a smile, "that you are not
likely to do such a thing twice, as to hold down a bull by the horns
and yet to escape alive; it's a pity no one saw you, for it is a feat
the whole neighbourhood would have talked about."

From this period Adam always noticed Martina by a kind nod, but never
spoke a single word to her. He seemed only to be pleased, that she had
given him an opportunity to perform a genuine Roettmann's exploit.

Shortly after, Martina was again washing at the brook, when Adam once
more stood before her: "Are you quite recovered from your fright?" said
he.

"No; my limbs still tremble from the terrible fear I felt, but as long
as I live I will thank you for having----"

"Pray don't talk about it. The animal was not vicious--no animal
is naturally so, neither horse nor ox, if not persecuted when
young by being foolishly hunted and cruelly goaded, and thus made
bad-tempered--then, at last, they are so with a vengeance--but--tell
me--don't you know all, and--don't you like me as much as I like you?"

He could not say much, but there was infinite tenderness in his eyes,
and subdued but deep love, as he looked at Martina and laid his hand on
her shoulder; and no man would have believed that the rough stalwart
Adam could have been so loving and gentle.

They were standing silently under the spreading beech, and Martina
gazing up at the bright rays of sunshine darting through the leaves--

"Look how beautiful this tree is!" said she.

"A very useless one," said Adam; "a vast number of branches, but a poor
trunk."

"I was not thinking of that, but see how it shines and glitters all
green and gold."

"You are right; it is beautiful," said Adam, and his glance was
unusually mild as the rays of the sun sportively flickered on his stern
embrowned features.

For the first time it seemed to occur to him, that a tree could be
looked at in any other lig