t Miss
Ray. She could not refuse him her hand in such a position; or if she
could have done so she lacked the presence of mind that was necessary
for such refusal. "You must let me walk home with you," he said.

"Indeed I will do no such thing. You told Augusta that you were going
to her papa in the town."

"So I am, but I will see you first as far as the bridge; you can't
refuse me that."

"Indeed I can, and indeed I will. I beg you won't come. I am sure you
would not wish to annoy me."

"Look," said he, pointing to the west; "did you ever see such a
setting sun as that? Did you ever see such blood-red colour?" The
light was very wonderful, for the sun had just gone down and all
the western heavens were crimson with its departing glory. In the
few moments that they stood there gazing it might almost have been
believed that some portentous miracle had happened, so deep and
dark, and yet so bright, were the hues of the horizon. It seemed as
though the lands below the hill were bathed in blood. The elm trees
interrupted their view, so that they could only look out through the
spaces between their trunks. "Come to the stile," said he. "If you
were to live a thousand years you might never again see such a sunset
as that. You would never forgive yourself if you missed it, just that
you might save three minutes."

Rachel stepped with him towards the stile; but it was not solely his
entreaty that made her do so. As he spoke of the sun's glory her
sharp ear caught the sound of a woman's foot close to the stile over
which she had passed, and knowing that she could not escape at once
from Luke Rowan, she had left the main path through the churchyard,
in order that the new comer might not see her there talking to him.
So she accompanied him on till they stood between the trees, and then
they remained encompassed as it were in the full light of the sun's
rays. But if her ears had been sharp, so were the eyes of this new
comer. And while she stood there with Rowan beneath the elms, her
sister stood a while also on the churchyard path and recognized the
figures of them both.

"Rachel," said he, after they had remained there in silence for a
moment, "live as long as you may, never on God's earth will you look
on any sight more lovely than that. Ah! do you see the man's arm, as
it were; the deep purple cloud, like a huge hand stretched out from
some other world to take you? Do you see it?"

The sound of his voice was very ple