"
"Oh, very well," I sighed, "good night, Lisbeth," and lifting my
cap I turned away.
There came a ripple of laughter be hind me, something struck me
softly upon the cheek, and stooping, I picked up that which lay
half unrolled at my feet, but when I looked round Lisbeth was gone.
"So presently I thrust "them" into my pocket and walked back slowly
along the river path toward the hospitable shelter of the Three
Jolly Anglers.
II
THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM
To sit beside a river on a golden afternoon listening to its
whispered melody, while the air about one is fragrant with summer,
and heavy with the drone of unseen wings! - What ordinary mortal
could wish for more? And yet, though conscious of this fair world
about me, I was still uncontent, for my world was incomplete - nay,
lacked its most essential charm, and I sat with my ears on the
stretch, waiting for Lisbeth's chance footstep on the path and the
soft whisper of her skirts.
The French are indeed a great people, for among many other things
they alone have caught that magic sound a woman's garments make as
she walks, and given it to the world in the one word "frou-frou.
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