"Yes, I love Damma."
"For some time Rheda was silent. Her head dropped upon her hands, and she sat dumb and smitten as if bent by a tempest.
"What do you know of her?" she asked at last, but without looking up again. "Where did you meet her? Where did you speak to her?"
"It was in the spring," answered Arvah, "when the days began to grow hot. I walked in the forest and came upon a white roe, which started from me; and after following it for long in vain I gave up the chase. Close at hand was a place where the cool river widened beneath the beeches into a clear deep pool. The bank was soft with thick moss; and, wearied with the heat, I dived in and swam hither and thither in the pleasant shadows. Then, to dry myself, I climbed into the top of one of the trees and sat in the sunshine, listening to the birds all around me. After I had descended, and as I was wandering slowly along by the river plucking daffodils, I heard a voice behind me
