The Herd Boy and His Hermit | Page 2

covered with thick moss,
veiling treacherously marshy ground in which it was easy to sink.
The cry came from the further side, where a mountain stream had force
enough to struggle through the swamp. There were stepping-stones
across the brook, which the boy knew, and he made his way from one

to the other, calling out cheerily to the little figure that he began to
discern in the fading light, and who answered him with tones evidently
girlish, 'O come, come, shepherd! Here I am! I am lost and lorn! They
will reward thee! Oh, come fast!'
'All in good time, lassie! Haste is no good here! I must look to my
footing.'
Presently he was by the side of the wanderer, and could see that it was
a maiden of ten or twelve years old, who somehow, even in the
darkness, had not the air of one of the few inhabitants of that wild
mountain district.
'Lost art thou, maiden,' he said, as he stood beside her; 'where is thine
home?'
'I am at Greystone Priory,' replied the girl. 'I went out hawking to-day
with the Mother Prioress and the rest. My pony fell with me when we
were riding after a heron. No one saw me or heard me, and my pony
galloped home. I saw none of them, and I have been wandering miles
and miles! Oh take me back, good lad; the Mother Prioress will give
thee--'
''Tis too far to take thee back to-night,' he said. 'Thou must come with
me to Hob Hogward, where Doll will give thee supper and bed, and we
will have thee home in the morning.'
'I never lay in a hogward's house,' she said primly.
'Belike, but there be worse spots to be harboured in. Here, I must carry
thee over the burn, it gets wider below! Nay, 'tis no use trying to leap it
in the dark, thou wouldst only sink in. There!'
And as he raised her in his arms, the touch of her garment was delicate,
and she on her side felt that his speech, gestures and touch were not
those of a rustic shepherd boy; but nothing was said till he had waded
through the little narrow stream, and set her down on a fairly firm
clump of grass on the other side. Then she asked, 'What art thou,
lad?--Who art thou?'
'They call me Hal,' was the answer; 'but this is no time for questions.
Look to thy feet, maid, or thou wilt be in a swamp-hole whence I may
hardly drag thee out.'
He held her hand, for he could hardly carry her farther, since she was
almost as tall as himself, and more plump; and the rest of the
conversation for some little time consisted of, 'There!' 'Where?' 'Oh, I

was almost down!' 'Take heed; give me thy other hand! Thou must leap
this!' 'Oh! what a place! Is there much more of it?' 'Not much! Come
bravely on! There's a good maid.' 'Oh, I must get my breath.' 'Don't
stand still. That means sinking. Leap! Leap! That's right. No, not that
way, turn to the big stair.' 'Oh--h!' 'That's my brave wench! Not far
now.' 'I'm down, I'm down!' 'Up! Here, this is safe! On that white stone!
Now, here's sound ground! Hark!' Wherewith he emitted a strange wild
whoop, and added, 'That's Hob come out to call me!' He holloaed again.
'We shall soon be at home now. There's Mother Doll's light! Her light
below, the star above,' he added to himself.
By this time it was too dark for the two young people to see more than
dim shapes of one another, but the boy knew that the hand he still held
was a soft and delicate one, and the girl that those which had grasped
and lifted her were rough with country labours. She began to assert her
dignity and say again, 'Who art thou, lad? We will guerdon thee well
for aiding me. The Lord St. John is my father. And who art thou?'
'I? Oh, I am Hob Hogward's lad,' he answered in an odd off-hand tone,
before whooping again his answer to the shouts of Hob, which were
coming nearer.
'I am so hungry!' said the little lady, in a weak, famished tone. 'Hast
aught to eat?'
'I have finished my wallet, more's the pity!' said the boy, 'but never fear!
Hold out but a few steps more, and Mother Doll will give thee bite and
sup and bed.'
'Alack! Is it much further! My feet! they are so sore and weary--'
'Poor maiden, let me bear thee on!'
Hal took her up again, but they went more slowly, and were glad to see
a tall figure before them, and hear the cry, 'How now, Hal boy,