A little distance off, a boy and girl were raking the
drier swaths together, and a hay-cart, drawn by oxen and driven by
a man, was just entering the meadow from the side next the barn.
Jacob hung his bundle upon a stake, threw his coat and waistcoat
over the rail, and, resting his chin on his shirted arms, leaned on
the fence, and watched the hay-makers. As the woman came down the
nearer side she appeared to notice him, for her head was turned
from time to time in his direction. When she had made the round,
she stopped the horses at the corner, sprang lightly from her seat
and called to the man, who, leaving his team, met her half-way.
They were nearly a furlong distant, but Jacob was quite sure that
she pointed to him, and that the man looked in the same direction.
Presently she set off across the meadow, directly towards him.
When within a few paces of the fence, she stopped, threw back the
flaps of her sun-bonnet, and said, "Good day to you!" Jacob was
so amazed to see a bright, fresh, girlish face, that he stared at
her with all his eyes, forgetting to drop his head.
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