He passes through the town until he comes to the iron gates with the glowering creatures on top. Quickly passing through these, he enters an avenue of autumn trees.
Walking ankle deep in fallen leaves, he approaches a cold-looking house with charming chimneys. The chimneys give him hope that the house is not as forbidding as it appears from the front.
Inside the house he is ushered into the room where Mrs. Oldcastle and Miss Gladwyn are spending the afternoon. Mrs. Oldcastle is reading a popular religious book while Miss Gladwyn polishes her pony harness.
Miss Gladwyn shows Mr. Walton the view from the window, and he sees that the house is built on a cliff overlooking rolling hills. At the bottom of the cliff there is a lake.
Miss Gladwyn brings him down the cliff by way of a rocky stair, to meet her aunt, who is reading by the lake. On the way down she tells Mr. Walton that her own name is Judy, and her aunt's name is Ethelwyn Oldcastle.
Ethelwyn Oldcastle turns out to be quiet and beautiful. She is reading an old book, but Mr. Walton can't see the cover. She tells him the lake is an old quarry left from when the house on the cliff was built.
Mr. Walton returns to the house with Ethelwyn and says good-bye to Mrs. Oldcastle and Judy. As he walks back through the avenue of trees, he walks very carefully over the fallen leaves.
