Instead of leaving the spot by the gate, he flung himself over the fence, and pursued a direction towards the river under the trees.

And it was now, in his lonely progress, that he showed for the first time outwardly that he was not altogether unworthy of her.

He wore long water-boots reaching above his knees, and, instead of making a circuit to find a bridge by which he might cross the Froom--the river aforesaid--he made straight for the point whence proceeded the low roar that was at this hour the only evidence of the stream's existence.

He speedily stood on the verge of the waterfall which caused the noise, and stepping into the water at the top of the fall, waded through with the sure tread of one who knew every inch of his footing, even though the canopy of trees rendered the darkness almost absolute, and a false step would have precipitated him into the pool beneath.

Soon reaching the boundary of the grounds, he continued in the same direct line to traverse the alluvial valley, full of brooks and tributaries to the main stream--in former times quite impassable, and impassable in winter now.