Thought I'd save him damage by
weather or anything; we'll put everything in that, and run it up into the
empty barn at Marrow and leave it. And there they'll be for him when he
wants 'em."

The woman answered: "You're very kind, I'm sure."

Perceiving that she meant no irony, the agent produced a sound from
somewhere deep and went out to summon his men.

With the best intentions, however, it is not possible, even in villages
so scattered that they cannot be said to exist, to do anything without
every one's knowing; and the work of 'putting out' the household goods of
the Tryst family, and placing them within the wagon, was not an hour in
progress before the road in front of the cottage contained its knot of
watchers. Old Gaunt first, alone--for the rogue-girl had gone to Mr.
Cuthcott's and Tom Gaunt was at work. The old man had seen evictions in
his time, and looked on silently, with a faint, sardonic grin. Four
children, so small that not even school had any use for them as yet, soon
gathered round his legs, followed by mothers coming to retrieve them, and
there was no longer silence. Then came two laborers, on their way to a
job, a stone-breaker, and two more women. It was through this little
throng that the mother-child and Kirsteen passed into the
fast-being-gutted cottage.

The agent was standing by Tryst's bed, keeping up a stream of comment to
two of his men, who were taking that aged bed to pieces. It was his habit
to feel less when he talked more; but no one could have fallen into a
more perfect taciturnity than he when he saw Kirsteen coming up those
narrow stairs. In so small a space as this room, where his head nearly
touched the ceiling, was it fair to be confronted by that lady--he put it
to his wife that same evening--"Was it fair?" He had seen a mother wild
duck look like that when you took away its young--snaky fierce about the
neck, and its dark eye! He had seen a mare, going to bite, look not half
so vicious! "There she stood, and--let me have it?--not a bit! Too much
the lady for that, you know!--Just looked at me, and said very quiet:
'Ah! Mr. Simmons, and are you really doing this?' and put her hand on
that little girl of his. 'Orders are orders, ma'am!' What could I say?
'Ah!' she said, 'yes, orders are orders, but they needn't be obeyed.'
'As to that, ma'am,' I said--mind you, she's a lady; you can't help
feeling that 'I'm a working man, the same as Tryst here; got to earn my
l