She was in a gay humor.  When she got to the Serpentine—­the north bank was her favorite promenade; she could see on the other side, just below the line of leaves, the people passing and repassing on horseback; but she was not of them—­she found a number of urchins wading.  They had no boat; but they had the bung of a barrel, which served, and that they were pushing through the water with twigs and sticks; their shapeless boots they had left on the bank.  Now, as it seemed to Brand, who was watching from a distance, she planned a scheme.  Anneli was seen to go ahead of the boys, and speak to them.  Their attention being thus distracted, the young mistress stepped rapidly down to the tattered boots, and dropped something in each.  Then she withdrew, and was rejoined by her maid; they walked away without waiting to see the result of their machinations.  But George Brand, following by-and-by, heard one of the urchins call out with wonder that he had found a penny in his shoe; and this extraordinary piece of news brought back his comrades, who rather mechanically began to examine their footgear too.  And then the amazement!—­and the looks around!—­and the examination of the pence, lest that treasure should vanish away!  Brand went up to them.

“Look hear you young stupids; don’t you see that tall lady away along there by the boat-house—­why don’t you go and thank her?”

But they were either too shy or too incredulous; so he left them.  He did not forget the incident.

Perhaps it was that the heavens had grown dark in the southwest, threatening a shower; but, at all events, Natalie soon returned and set out on her homeward way, giving this unknown spy some trouble to escape observation.  But when she had passed, he again followed, now with even greater unrest and pain at his heart.  For would not she soon disappear, and the outer world grow empty, and the dull hours have to be faced?  He had come to London with such hope and gladness; now the very sunlight was to be taken out of his life by the shutting of a door in Curzon Street.

Fate, however, was kinder to him than he had dared to hope.  As Natalie was returning home, he ventured to draw a little nearer to her, but still with the greatest caution, for he would have been overcome with shame if she had detected him dogging her footsteps in this aimless, if innocent manner.  And now that she had got close to her own door, he had drawn nearer still—­on the other side of the street; he so longed to catch one more glimpse of the dark eyes smiling, and the mobile, proud mouth.  But just as the door was being opened from within, a man who had evidently been watching his chance thrust himself before the two women, barring their way, and proceeded to address Natalie in a vehement, gesticulating fashion, with much clinching of his fists and throwing out of his arms.  Anneli had shrunk back a step, for the man was uncouth and unkempt; but the young mistress stood erect and firm, confronting the beggar, or madman, or whoever he was, without the slightest sign of fear.