Perhaps life had been cruel to her.

He forgot Miriam, who was walking beside him talking to him.

She glanced at him, finding he did not answer her.

His eyes were fixed ahead on Clara.
"Do you still think she is disagreeable ?" she asked.
He did not notice that the question was sudden.

It ran with his thoughts.
"Something's the matter with her," he said.
"Yes," answered Miriam.
They found at the top of the hill a hidden wild field, two sides of which were backed by the wood, the other sides by high loose hedges of hawthorn and elder bushes.