He wished to paint a shore picture , he said , and wanted a model . Would they allow Miss Fraser to pose for him ? He would pay liberally for her time . Angus and his wife had no objection . They would pocket the money , and Helen could be spared a spell every day as well as not . Reeves told Helen of his plan himself , meeting her in the evening as she was bringing the cows home from the low shore pastures beyond the marsh . He was surprised at the sudden illumination of her face . It almost transfigured her from a plain , sulky-looking girl into a beautiful woman . But the glow passed quickly . She assented to his plan quietly , almost lifelessly . He walked home with her behind the cows and talked of the sunset and the mysterious beauty of the bay and the purple splendour of the distant coasts . She listened in silence . Only once , when he spoke of the distant murmur of the open sea , she lifted her head and looked at him . `` What does it say to you ? '' she asked . `` It speaks of eternity . And to you ? '' `` It calls me , '' she answered simply , `` and then I want to go out and meet it -- and it hurts me too . I ca n't tell how or why . Sometimes it makes me feel as if I were asleep and wanted to wake and did n't know how . ''
She turned and XXXXX out over the bay .
assented bringing feel listened looked meeting say spared told transfigured