"No, thank you; I mean to climb to the top. Somebody must sustain the
credit of our sex."
"I know it's safe in your hands, Alice," said Carrie serenely.--"Lucy
dear, you look happy. Do you enjoy it?"
The sparkle in Lucy's eyes answered her better than any words.
The road was becoming rougher and steeper, and Billy's progress
slower and slower, and the summit of the Peak drawing nearer and
nearer. Miss Keane and Tom had got ahead of the waggon, and were the
first to reach the top. At last Billy, with a great pull, brought the
waggon to the level ground, and then stood still. They all alighted,
and, forming a little circle, stood drinking in the beauty of the
scene. Wondering how Tom would be affected, Miss Keane turned to
speak to him, but he had gone; and looking round, she saw him
standing by a huge boulder, but his face was turned away, and
understanding why he felt it best to be alone for a few minutes, she
did not venture to disturb him. It was a panorama of wonderful
beauty. They seemed to stand up among the clouds, the air was so pure
and cool and bracing. Far beneath, the houses of the town looked like
a tiny ant-nest, enveloped in a filmy haze. The great plain stretched
around for miles and miles, dotted here and there by many a pretty
homestead, and intersected by the winding river, glinting and
glistening in the sun as it hurried on and on to join the far-off
sea.
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