come again," said Anice.

During her visit, Liz had told her much of Joan. She seemed to like to
talk of her, and certainly Anice had been quite ready to listen.

"She is na easy to mak' out," said Liz, "an' p'r'aps that's th' reason
why folks puts theirsens to so much trouble to mak' her out."

When he passed the cottage on the Knoll Road in going home at night,
Fergus could not help looking out for Joan. Sometimes he saw her, and
sometimes he did not. During the warm weather, he saw her often at the
door, or near the gate; almost always with the child in her arms. There
was no awkward shrinking in her manner at such times, no vestige of the
clumsy consciousness usually exhibited by girls of her class. She met
his glance with a grave quietude, scarcely touched with interest, he
thought; he never observed that she smiled, though he was uncomfortably
conscious now and then that she stood and calmly watched him out of
sight.

CHAPTER VIII - The Wager of Battle

"Owd Sammy Craddock" rose from his chair, and going to the mantel-piece,
took down a tobacco jar of red and yellow delft, and proceeded to fill
his pipe with solemn ceremony. It was a large, deep clay pipe, and held
a great deal of tobacco--particularly when filled from the store of an
acquaintance. "It's a good enow pipe to borrow wi'," Sammy was wont to
remark. In the second place, Mr. Craddock drew forth a goodly portion
of the weed, and pressed it down with ease and precision into the top
of the foreign gentleman's turban which constituted the bowl. Then he
lighted it with a piece of paper, remarking to his wife between long
indrawn puffs, "I'm goin'--to th' Public."

The good woman did not receive the intelligence as amicably as it had
been given.

"Aye," she said, "I'll warrant tha art. When tha art no fillin' thy
belly tha art generally either goin' to th' Public, or comin' whoam. Aw
Rig-gan ud go to ruin if tha wert na at th' Public fro' morn till neet
looking after other folkses business. It's well for th' toun as tha'st
getten nowt else to do."

Sammy puffed away at his pipe, without any appearance of disturbance.

"Aye," he consented dryly, "it is, that. It ud be a bad thing to ha'
th' pits stop workin' aw because I had na attended to 'em, an' gi'en th'
mes-ters a bit o' encouragement. Tha sees mine's what th' gentlefolk
ca' a responsible position i' society. Th' biggest trouble I ha', is
settlin' i' my moind what th' world 'ill do when