ey saw the door in an
opening niche at the corner of the house; on its steps sat the old
preacher, his grey hair shining, his bronzed face bathed in moonlight.
He sat peaceful and quiet, his hands clasped. Harkness next led them
through, a dark overgrown walk, and, true to his promise, brought them
at once to the other fence. He seemed to use the old paling as a gate
whenever the fancy took him. He pulled away two of the rotten soft wood
pales and helped the girls gallantly on to their father's property.

"Charmed, I'm sure, to be of use, ladies!" cried he, and he made his
bow.

On the other side of their own fence, knee-deep in dry uncut grass, they
stood together a few paces from the gap he had made, and proffered their
earnest thanks.

"Say," said Harkness, abruptly, "d'you often see Miss White up to your
house?"

"Eliza, do you mean?" said they, with just a slight intonation to
signify that they did not look upon her as a "Miss." Their further
answer represented the exact extent of their knowledge in the matter.
"She didn't come much for a good while, but last week she came to tea.
It is arranged for mamma to ask her to tea once in a while, and we're
all to try and be nice to her, because--well, our sister says, now that
people pay her attentions, she ought to have a place where she can come
to, where she can feel she has friends."

"How d'ye mean--'pay her attentions'?"

"That was what we heard sister Sophia say," they replied, pursing up
their little lips. They knew perfectly well what the phrase meant, but
they were not going to confess it. The arts of those who are on the
whole artless are very pretty.

"Say, d'ye think Miss White's got the least bit of a heart about her
anywheres?"

"We don't know exactly what you mean"--with dignity--"but one of the
ladies who boards at the hotel told mamma that Eliza _always_ behaves
_admirably_'; that's part of the reason we're having her to tea."

"Did she, though? If having about as much feeling as this fence has is
such fine behaviour--!" He stopped, apparently not knowing exactly how
to end his sentence.

The girls began to recede. The grass grew so thin and dry that they did
little harm by passing through it. It sprang up in front of their feet
as they moved backwards in their white dresses. All colour had passed
from the earth. The ripple of the river and the cry of the
whip-poor-will rose amid the murmur of the night insects.

"Do you sometimes come dow