The stony escarpment upon which they stood had the
contour of a man's face, and it was covered with furze as with a
beard. People in the field above were preserved from an
accidental roll down these prominences and hollows by a hedge on
the very crest, which was doing that kindly service for Elfride
and her mother now.
Scrambling higher into the hedge and stretching her neck further
over the furze, Elfride beheld the individual signified. He was
walking leisurely along the little green path at the bottom,
beside the stream, a satchel slung upon his left hip, a stout
walking-stick in his hand, and a brown-holland sun-hat upon his
head. The satchel was worn and old, and the outer polished
surface of the leather was cracked and peeling off.
Knight having arrived over the hills to Castle Boterel upon the
top of a crazy omnibus, preferred to walk the remaining two miles
up the valley, leaving his luggage to be brought on.
Behind him wandered, helter-skelter, a boy of whom Knight had
briefly inquired the way to Endelstow; and by that natural law of
physics which causes lesser bodies to gravitate towards the
greater, this boy had kept near to Knight, and trotted like a
little dog close at his heels, whistling as he went, with his eyes
fixed upon Knight's boots as they rose and fell.
When they had reached a point precisely opposite that in which
Mrs. and Miss Swancourt lay in ambush, Knight stopped and turned
round.
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