His father was pleased to allow him to do this, being glad of anything that would occupy the restless lad while at home for his holidays.
"I will draw all the beds geometrically myself," said Mark, "and make it quite different from anything you have ever seen.

And then I will build a tea-house all of fir, and line it with cones, and it will have a delightful perfume." Then he said to himself that if Hetty had not turned out so badly he would have asked her to make tea very often in his nice house among his flowers.

But, of course, he could not ask a tell-tale duffer of a girl to do anything for him.
He set to work to plan his beds, and one afternoon was busy marking off spaces with wooden pegs and a long line of cord.

After working some time he came to the end of his pegs, and was annoyed to find that he had not enough to finish the particular figure he was planning.

He did not like to drop his line to go for more pegs, as he feared his work was not secure enough, and would fall astray if the string was not held taut till the end should be properly secured.
Just as he looked around impatiently, not knowing what to do, he saw Hetty coming along the path above him, walking slowly and reading.