fact far better;
but a man is terrible quick to trade on the good opinion of his fellow
man, and if you let him imagine you can't do without him, you may put
false and fantastic ideas into his head."

"I'm not at all sure if I could do without him," she answered, "though,
even if he knew it, he's far too fine a character to take advantage. A
most modest creature and undervalued accordingly."

Then a boy ran in for Richard and he hastened away, while Nelly took a
sheaf of flowers to the summer-house and made the table bright with
them.

She praised her niece's activities.

"'Tis a shame to ring you in on your half-holiday," she said. "But
you're one of the sensible sort, and you won't regret being a good girl
to me in the time to come."

Then she turned to Job.

"Gurd's got a char-a-bank and a party on the way from Lyme, and he's
full up and wants the four-horse stable," she told him. It was part of
Job's genius never to be put about, or driven from placidity by
anything.

"Then there's no time to lose," he said. "We're ready here, and now if
Sarah will lend a hand at the table over there in the shade for the
party of six--"

"Lord! I'd forgotten them."

"I hadn't," he answered. "They're cutting in the kitchen now and the
party's due at four. So you'll have them very near off your hands before
the big lot comes. I'll see to the stable and get in a bit of fresh
straw and shake down some hay. Then I'll take the bar and let Miss
Denman come to help with the tea."

He went his way and Sarah sat down a moment while her aunt arranged the
flowers.

"There's no tea-tables like yours," she said.

"I pride myself on 'em. A lot goes to a tea beside the good food, in my
opinion. Some human pigs don't notice my touches and only want to stuff;
but the bettermost have an eye for everything sweet and clean about 'em.
Such nicer characters don't like poultry messing round and common things
in sight while they eat and drink. I know what I feel myself about a
clean cloth and a bunch of fine flowers on the table, and many people
are quite as particular as me. I train the girls up to take a pride in
such things, and now and again a visitor will thank me for it."

"I could have brought a bunch of flowers from our little garden," said
Sarah.

"It would be coals to Newcastle, my dear. We make a feature of 'em. Job
Legg understands the ways of 'em, and you see the result. You can pick
all day from my herbaceous border and not