96
The Shepherdess
of purple than he had ever expected to own. Archias, covered with a rough goatskin, returned to the grove and sat down upon the grass near Pan to wait.
The flower-crowned image stared with unseeing eyes. But it is possible the lips curved in a slight smile when Lysidice returned, cautiously, through the grove.
Her wide eyes saw the stranger seated upon the grass, but she was not frightened, for she saw many others like him, each day among the fields. Yet, he was different . . . She hesitated, but his smile warmed her; and after a moment, at his bidding, she even consented to sit beside him.
***
The day was passing. The shadows slowly deepened among the trees and the first faint breath of evening stirred the
