A film came between her eyes and the man at whom she stared, and her heart grew cold.
"Audrey," said Haward, "come here, child." The blood returned to her heart, her vision cleared, and her arm fell from its clasp upon the tree.

The bark opened not; the hamadryad had lost the spell.

When at his repeated command she crossed to him, she went as the trusting, dumbly loving, dumbly grateful child whose life he had saved, and whose comforter, protector, and guardian he had been.

When he took her hands in his she was glad to feel them there again, and she had no blushes ready when he kissed her upon the forehead.

It was sweet to her who hungered for affection, who long ago had set his image up, loving him purely as a sovereign spirit or as a dear and great elder brother, to hear him call her again "little maid;" tell her that she had not changed save in height; ask her if she remembered this or that adventure, what time they had strayed in the woods together.