ters and I don't think you're the best partner in the
world for her, else I'd never have touched the subject. But if you use
your cleverness and put it to her that 'tis undignified for you both to go
on waiting for ever, she'll very likely see it."

"She might, or again she mightn't."

"She would," declared Jonas. "I ain't watched you and her for a year for
nothing. This ain't going to be the shattering wrench for her you might
think, William."

White knew that very well, but dwelt on his own downfall, and loss. "Make
it five hundred--win or lose," he said at last, "and I'll oblige you."

And Jonas Bird agreed instantly, for at the bottom of his heart he weren't
feeling it no wildgoose chase for him; because, though a simple man in
some ways, he didn't lack caution, and he'd unfolded his feelings pretty
oft to Milly, speaking, of course, in general terms; and he well knew that
she felt high respect for his character and opinions and good position.

Then William spoke.

"If you'd like it in writing, you can have it," he said, "but for my part
I trust you, and I doubt not you trust me, and I'm inclined to think the
less that be put down on paper about it, the better. 'Tis a deed of
darkness, in a manner of speaking, and written documents have often
brought disasters with 'em afterwards, so us had best to trust each other
and sign nought." Jonas agreed to this most emphatic and then they parted.

But it weren't twenty-four hours later before the carpenter felt the deed
was afoot, for he soon saw that Milly had got a weight on her mind. She
said nought, however, till a week was past and then told Jonas,
confidential, that she savoured something in the air.

"There's some people can smell rain," she said, "and others, if they go in
a churchyard, know to a foot when they be walking over their own future
graves; and though I'm not one to meet trouble half-way, it's borne in on
me that I be going to face changes afore long."

"In what direction?" asked Jonas, cunning as a serpent. "God send you
don't mean that William be going to get his rise and take you away?"

"I do not," she said. "Quite the contrary. I mean that William be going to
change his mind about me."

"And would you call that meeting trouble exactly, or contrariwise?" asked
Bird.

"Well," she answered. "Between you and me, I may say that I shall
doubtless get over it; but I'm a good bit hurt, because it had got to be
an understood thing and I little li