In the same instant she caught sight of a man's figure standing beneath it, apparently waiting for her.
He had evidently just come out of the wood.

He carried a gun on his shoulder, but the freedom of his pose was so striking that she likened him on the instant to a Roman gladiator.
She could not stop herself at once though she checked her speed, and when she finally managed to come to a stand, she was close to him.
He stepped forward to meet her with a royal air of welcome.

"How nice of you to come and call on me!" he said.
His dark eyes shone mischievously as they greeted her, and she was too flushed and dishevelled to stand upon ceremony.

Pantingly she threw back her gay reply.
"This is the children's happy hunting ground, not mine, I suppose, if the truth were told, we are trespassing." He made her his sweeping bow.

"There is not a corner of this estate that is not utterly and for ever at your service." He turned as the two elder boys came racing up, and she saw the half-mocking light go out of his eyes as they glanced up the hill.
"Hullo!" he said.