unruly curls of her dark brown hair, and she had clear and very
bright brown eyes. The mouth and chin were perhaps a little large
to be in absolute harmony with the rest of her features, and she
was of a dark complexion, with a soft and delicate bloom that
would by itself have given her a right to claim her possession of
a full share of good looks. She was dressed quite simply in a
white frock with a touch of colour at the waist and she had a very
flimsy lace shawl thrown over her shoulders, presumably intended
as a protection against the night air.

Her companion was a very tall and big man, well over six feet in
height, with handsome, strongly-marked features that often bore an
expression a little too haughty, but that showed now a very tender
and gentle look, so that it was not difficult to guess the state of
his feelings towards the girl at his side. His shoulders were broad,
his chest deep, and his whole build powerful in the extreme, and
Dunn, looking him up and down with the quick glance of one accustomed
to judge men, thought that he had seldom seen one more capable of
holding his own.

Answering his companion's remark, he said lightly:

"Oh, no, I shall cut across the wood, it's ever so much shorter,
you know."

"But it's so dark and lonely," the girl protested. "And then, after
last week--"

He interrupted her with a laugh, and he lifted his head with a
certain not unpleasing swagger.