He stood barefooted on the edge of the cliff, clenching and unclenching his bony hands, with the air of a culprit awaiting sentence.
There was a decided pause before his victim spoke.

She found some difficulty in grappling with the situation, but she had no intention of turning her back upon it.

She felt it must be tackled with resolution.
After a moment she spoke, with as much sternness as she could muster, "Why did you throw those stones ?" He backed at the sound of her voice, and she had an instant of sickening fear, for there was a drop of twenty feet behind him on the shingle.

But he must have seen her look, for he stopped himself on the brink, and stood there doggedly.
"Don't stand there!" she said quickly.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He lowered his head, and looked at her from under drawn brows.