I hope not," said the man; "but we got a bit of a fright this
afternoon. A young man rode through, going down to Hillsborough, and
stopped here to have his girth mended; he had broke it coming down our
hill. While he was taking a glass he let out his errand; they had found
a crack in the embankment, and sent him down to Hillsborough to tell Mr.
Tucker, the engineer. Bless your heart, we should never have known aught
about it if his girth hadn't broke." He added, as a reason for thinking
it was not serious that Mr. Tucker had himself inspected the dam just
before tea-time, and hadn't even seen the crack. It was a laboring man
who had discovered it, through crossing the embankment lower down than
usual. "But you see, sir," said he, in conclusion, "we lie very low
here, and right in the track; and so we mustn't make light of a warning.
And, of course, many of the workmen stop here and have their say; and,
to tell you the truth, one or two of them have always misliked the
foundation that embankment is built on: too many old landslips to be
seen about. But, after all, I suppose they can empty the dam, if need
be; and, of course, they will, if there is any danger. I expect Mr.
Tucker up every minute."

Ransome thanked him for his information and pushed on to Lower Hatfield:
there he found lights in the houses and the inhabitants astir; but he
passed through the village in silence, and came to the great corn-mill,
a massive stone structure with granite pillars, the pride of the
place. The building was full of lights, and the cranes were all at work
hoisting the sacks of flour from the lower floors to the top story. The
faces of the men reflected in the flaring gas, and the black cranes with
their gaunt arms, and the dark bodies rising by the snake-like
cords, formed a curious picture in the fluctuating moonlight, and an
interesting one too; for it showed the miller did not feel his flour
quite safe.

The next place Ransome came to was Fox Farm.

Farmer Emden was standing at the door of his house, and, in reply to
Ransome, told him he had just come down from the reservoir. He had seen
the crack and believed it to be a mere frost crack. He apprehended no
danger, and had sent his people to bed; however, he should sit up for an
hour or two just to hear what Tucker the engineer had to say about it;
he had been sent for.

Ransome left him, and a smart canter brought him in sight of what seemed
a long black hill, with great glow-