Furtive [adjective] : attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive.

• Source: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/furtive

Taken from THE COTTAGETTE

• ” I was delighted with it. More than delighted. Here this tiny shell of
  fresh unpainted wood peeped out from under the trees, the only house in
  sight except the distant white specks on far off farms, and the little
  wandering village in the river-threaded valley. It sat right on the
  turf,–no road, no path even, and the dark woods shadowed the back
  windows.

  “How about meals?” asked Lois.

  “Not two minutes walk,” he assured her, and showed us a little furtive
  path between the trees to the place where meals were furnished. “

To express to the reader that the path that lead to the cabin where they would get their meals, was so small and covered by plants, you could barely notice it.