see who's wisest
in the end. Now, will you agree to it?"

"I'll talk it over with Nancy again," and the big black sun-bonnet
nodded with sapient significance. "Send her to me."

"It's from you I got my good sense," said old Tom approvingly, and went
off in search of his wife, while the clever old lady pondered deep
schemes.

"Here's the way of it, Nancy," she said, when Mrs. Hamon came in. "He's
crazy on these silver mines, and he's willing to pay out our dowers,
yours and mine, so that he may throw the rest into the big holes at Port
Gorey. Ch'est b'en! Your money and mine take more than half of what he
gets. If you'll put yours to mine I'll make up the difference from what
I've saved, and we'll retraite the farm, and it shall go to Nance and
Bernel when the time comes."

"I can't help thinking it's rather hard on Tom," suggested Mrs. Hamon,
with less vigour than before.

The idea appealed strongly to her maternal feelings and she had suffered
much from Tom; still her instinct for right was there and was not to be
stifled with a word.

"If you feel so when the time comes we could divide it among them, and
till then Tom would have to behave himself," said the wily old lady,
with a chuckle.

That again appealed strongly to Mrs. Hamon.

"Yes, I think I would agree to that," she said, after thinking it all
over.

All things considered, Grannie's scheme was an excellent one and worthy
of her.

By a curious anomaly of Sark law, though a man may not mortgage his
property without the consent of his next-in-succession, he can sell it
outright and do what he chooses with the proceeds. His wife has a dower
right of one-third of both real and personal estate, into which she
enters upon his death. The right, however, is there while he still
lives, and must be taken into consideration in any sale of the property.

All property is sold subject to the "retraite"; in plain English, no
sale is completed for six weeks, and within that time every member of
the seller's family, in due order of succession, even to the collateral
branches, has the right to take over, or withdraw, the property at the
same price as has been agreed upon, paying in addition to the Seigneur
the trezieme or thirteenth part of the price, as by law provided.

If Grannie's scheme were carried out, therefore, she and Mrs. Hamon
would become owners of the farm. Tom would be there on sufferance and
might be kept within bounds or kicked out. Old Tom woul