OCR Text |
Show J72 B$bfnlng f'loute IS!lb ~ose anb $1!\ler A man entered the gate very quietly, paused, then turned into the garden, to soothe his wildly beating heart for a few moments with the balm of scent and sound. Upstairs, behind the shelter of the swaying curtain, a shining figure drew back into the shadow. Smiling, and with an agreeable sense of adventure, Isabel tiptoed down the back stairs, and entered the garden, unheard, by a side door. With assumed carelessness, yet furtively watching, she made the circuit of the lilypool, humming to herself. A quick leap and a hght foot on the grass startled her for an in- :an J6ncbanteb t>our 1)3 stant, then she laughed, for it was only Mr. 111lbcre Boffin, playing with his own dancing shadow. ltzln be "'' e:;,~~::J:;: ~;,f::;: The sound of the piano had become very famt, though the windows were open and the wind was in the right direction. Isabel stopped at another bush, picked a few full-blown white roses, and sat down on a garden bench to remove the thorns. "I wonder where he can be," she said to herself. "Surely he can't have gone home again." She listened, but there was no sound save the distant piano, and the abrupt, play-ful purr of Mr. Boffin, as he pounced upon a fallen white rose. |