to say that was to be said of them,
and of much besides. And the surprise, as far as he was concerned, was
that he should be capable of taking all this in hand, and that being
trusted with it he should so quickly and clearly show that he was
capable of doing it all well.

No one was surprised at Clifton. He had the old squire's head for
business, they said, as Jacob had said before, and he had such an
education as the squire had never had, which must tell in the long run.
Then he had so good an opinion of his own powers, that he would never
think any work too great to undertake, and being "backed" by Mr
Langden, and by several other rich men, both at home and at a distance,
to whom Mr Langden's movement in the matter of the new mills had given
confidence, the chances were, everybody said, that he would do what he
had set out to do.

And so he did, as far as the new dam on the Beaver River, and the mills
and workshops, and many other works besides, which he put his hand to
for the benefit of Gershom and his own benefit, were concerned. And so
he did in the course of years in his own business--that is, he and Jacob
together did much to recover that which had been lost, and to make once
more the name of the firm a power in Gershom, and in all the
countryside. But a good many years passed before all that was brought
about.

Mr Fleming parted with a portion of his farm, not without regret,
indeed; but with none of the bitterness of feeling which in former days
had always risen within him at the thought of possibly having to do so;
and Davie was triumphant. Katie grieved over the prospect of having the
"bonny quiet place" spoiled with mills and shops and other folks'
houses, and the clatter of looms and factory-bells. Grannie thought as
Katie did, and would have grieved over this also if anything except a
fear of the wrong-doing of any of the bairns could have moved her from
the sweet content which, since the joyful ending of her long illness,
had rested in her heart, and made itself evident in every word and deed.

But still grannie found much that was to be rejoiced over in that which
made Katie grieve. It was a fine thing to be free of debt, and it was
well that since they must part with the land it was to be put to a good
use.

As for grandfather there was no sign of grumbling in him. Indeed, when
the spring opened, and the work at the Pool made progress, he began to
take much interest in all that was going