eadful
language to her--I'm sure I don't know for what reason. He chose to go
out without me this morning."

"But that was 'bout business," said Joan.

"Oh, business!" repeated Eve. "Business is a very convenient word when
you don't want to tell a person what your real errand is. Not that I
want to pry into Adam's secrets--far from it. He's quite welcome to
keep what he likes from me, only I'd rather he wouldn't tell me half
things. I like to know all or none."

Joan looked mystified, and Jerrem, seeing she did not know what to say,
came to the rescue. "I'm sure I'm very vexed if I've been the cause of
anything o' this, Eve," he said humbly.

"You needn't be at all vexed: it's nothing at all to do with you. You
asked me to go, and I said yes: if I hadn't wanted to go I should have
said no. Any one would think I'd committed a crime, instead of taking a
simple walk, with no other fault than not happening to return home at
the very same minute that it suited Adam to come back at."

"But how is it he's a seed you if you haven't a seed he?" said Joan,
fairly puzzled by this game of cross-purposes. "He came home all right
'nuf, and then went off to see whereabouts he could find 'ee to; and
'bout quarter'n hour after back he comes in a reg'lar pelt, and says,
'You tell Eve,' he says, 'that I'm not goin' to foace myself where I'm
told I sha'n't be wanted.' Awh, my dear, he'd seed 'ee somewheres," she
continued in answer to Eve's shrug of bewilderment: "I could tell that
so soon as iver I'd clapped eyes on un."

"And where's he off to now?" said Eve, determined to have an immediate
settlement of her wrongs.

"I can't tell: he just flung they words at me and was gone."

Eve said no more, but with the apparent intention of taking off her hat
went up stairs, while Joan, bidding Jerrem go and see if Uncle Zebedee
was roused up yet, returned to her previous occupation of preparing the
tea. When it was ready she called out, "Come 'long, Eve;" but no answer
was returned. "Tay's ready, my dear." Still no reply.--"She can't ha'
gone out agen?" thought Joan, mounting the stairs to ascertain the
cause of the silence, which was soon explained by the sight of Eve
flung down on the bed, with her head buried in the pillow.--"Now,
whatever be doin' this for?" exclaimed Joan, bending down and
discovering that Eve was sobbing as if her heart would break. "Awh,
doan't cry now, there's a dear: 't 'ull all come straight agen. Why,
now, you