Then she stooped over farther and buried her face in the wet grass, repeating the rhyme again with her eyes shut and in the singsong chant in which she often intoned things, without giving heed to what she was uttering.

Suddenly, in the midst of this joyful abandon, an amused exclamation made her lift her head a little and open her eyes.
"By all the powers! What are you up to now, Miss Stork ?" Mary's head came up out of the wet grass with a jerk.

Then her face burned an embarrassed crimson, for striding along the path toward her was Bob Moore, cutting across lots from Oaklea.

He was bareheaded, and swinging along as if it were a pleasure merely to be alive on such a morning.
She sprang to her feet, so mortified at being caught in this secret quest for beauty that her embarrassment left her speechless.

Then, remembering the way she was dressed, she sank down on the grass again, and pulled her kimono as far as possible over the little bare feet in the red slippers.
There was no need for her to answer his question.