She repeated the call, but perhaps a little too
eagerly, and the bird spread its wings with a
frightened cry, and skimmed, half flying, half
running, out over the glittering surface of the
fjord. But from the rocks close by came a long
melancholy whistle like that of a bird in
distress, and the girl rose and hastened with eager
steps toward the spot. She climbed up on a
stone, fringed all around with green slimy sea-
weeds, in order to gain a wider view of the
beach. Then suddenly some huge figure started
up between the rocks at her feet; she gave a
little scream, her foot slipped, and in the next
moment she lay--in Strand's arms. He offered
no apology, but silently carried her over the
slippery stones, and deposited her tenderly upon
the smooth white sand. There it occurred to
her that his attention was quite needless, but at
the moment she was too startled to make any
remonstrance.
"But how in the world, Mr. Strand, did you
come here?" she managed at last to stammer.
"We all thought that you had gone away."
"I hardly know myself," said Strand, in a
beseeching undertone, quite different from his
usual confident bass. "I only know that--that
I was very wretched, and that I had to come
back."
Then there was a pause, which to both seemed
quite interminable, and, in order to fill it out in
some way, Strand began to move his head and
arms uneasily, and at length seated himself at
Augusta's side. The blood was beating with
feverish vehemence in her temples, and for the
first time in her life she felt something akin to
pity for this large, strong man, whose strength
and cheerful self-reliance had hitherto seemed
to raise him above the need of a woman's aid
and sympathy.
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