Presently she set to work and assisted her companion until they had
gathered a full load of leaves. Then the younger plucked one or two
great golden orange lilies that grew in this little glen, and soon
the women started upon their homeward way. They had descended about
a mile and at a shoulder of Griante sat down to rest in welcome
shadow. Beneath, to the northward, lay their home beside the water
and, gazing down upon the scattered and clustered habitations of
Menaggio, Jenny declared that she saw the red roof of Villa Pianezzo
and the brown of the lofty shed behind, where dwelt her uncle's
silkworms.
Opposite, on its promontory, stood the little township of Bellagio
and behind it flashed the glassy face of Lecco in the cloudless
sunshine. And then, suddenly, as if it had been some apparition
limned upon the air, there stood in the path the figure of a tall
man. His red head was bare and from the face beneath shone a pair of
wild and haggard eyes. They saw the stranger's great tawny
mustache, his tweed garments and knickerbockers, his red waistcoat,
and the cap he carried in his hand.
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