Once that afternoon he found
himself alone with her in a quiet part of the woods, where the long
branches of a great oak came nearly to the ground, and formed a little
bower which looked so inviting that Anna sat down upon the gnarled
roots of the tree, and, tossing her hat upon the grass, exclaimed,
"How nice and pleasant it is here. Come, sit down, too, while I tell
you about my class in Sunday-school, and that poor Mrs. Hobbs across
the mill stream. You won't forget her, will you? I told her you would
visit her the oftener when I was gone. Do you know she cried because I
was going? It made me feel so badly that I doubted if it was right for
me to go," and, pulling down a handful of the oak leaves above her
head, Anna began weaving together a chaplet, while the rector stood
watching her with a puzzled expression upon his face. She did not act
as if she ever could have dictated that letter, but he had no
suspicion of the truth and answered rather coldly, "I did not suppose
you cared how much we might miss you at home."
Something in his tone made Anna look up into his face, and her eyes
immediately filled with tears, for she knew that in some way she had
displeased him.
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