To-day, after Elsli had sat alone for a time, she rose and walked along this path, and gazed at the ever-moving waves as they rushed headlong toward the sea.

Sunk in thought, she came at last nearer to the willows than she had ever been before.

The bushes grew larger and higher and became real trees; from a distance they looked like a thick wood that reached far into the water.
Here was complete solitude; not a creature was to be seen, and the plash of the water below was the only sound that broke the stillness.

Suddenly a loud scream startled the air.

Elsli drew back in alarm.