canine playmate, a being that might have been an emanation from the
radiant apple-tree, or, rather, the human embodiment of the blossoming
period of the year. Her low wide brow and her neck were snowy white,
and no pink petal on the trees above her could surpass the bloom on
her cheeks. Her large, dark, lustrous eyes were brimming over with
fun, and unconscious of observation, she moved with the natural,
unstudied grace of a child.

Graham thought, "No scene of nature is complete without the human
element, and now the very genius of the hour and season has appeared;"
and he hastily concealed himself behind the curtains, unwilling to
lose one glimpse of a picture that made every nerve tingle with
pleasure. His first glance had revealed that the fair vision was not a
child, but a tall, graceful girl, who happily had not yet passed
beyond the sportive impulses of childhood.

Every moment she came nearer, until at last she stood opposite the
window. He could see the blue veins branching across her temples, the
quick rise and fall of her bosom, caused by rather violent exertion,
the wavy outlines of light brown hair that was gathered in a Greek
coil at the back of the shapely head. She had the rare combination of
dark eyes and light hair which made the lustre of her eyes all the
more striking. He never forgot that moment as she stood panting before
him on the gravel walk, her girlhood's grace blending so harmoniously
with her budding womanhood. For a moment the thought crossed his mind
that under the spell of the spring evening his own fancy had created
her, and that if he looked away and turned again he would see nothing
but the pink and white blossoms, and hear only the jubilant song of
the birds.