He held the fishing rights over half a mile of a noted river, but, by force of the law of hospitality, as it were, the stretch of water bordering the lawn was a finny sanctuary.

Once, he halted, and looked fixedly at a dormer window in a cottage just visible above the trees on the opposite slope.

Such a highly presentable young man might well expect to find a dainty feminine form appearing just in that place, and eke return the greeting of a waved hand.

But the window remained blank--windows refused to yield any information that morning--and he passed on.
The lawn dipped gently to the water's edge, until the close-clipped turf gave way to pebbles and sand.

In that spot the river widened and deepened until its current was hardly perceptible in fine weather.