ush would like his daughter to talk to anybody," said Abel.

"Good Lord, why not? Why shouldn't she talk to me?" exclaimed Carl.

"Ask him; perhaps he'll tell you," said Abel.

"I will. She's promised to ask him to show me round when he has a bit
of spare time."

"Has she now? Well, I'm blessed! I wonder what he'll say?"

"I'll make it worth his while. I don't suppose he'll be too proud to
accept a fiver," said Carl.

To this Abel said nothing. He knew Tom Thrush's failing--love of
money. The game-keeper was not miserly, but he dearly loved handling
gold, and Abel surmised he had saved a "tidy sum."

As Jane walked home alone, she thought what a pleasant gentleman the
stranger was, and how nicely he talked; she never for a moment dreamed
there was any harm in speaking to him or allowing him to walk with her
to the village. Jane Thrush never knew a mother's care, at least not
long enough to influence her life, and her father left her very much to
herself. She was accustomed to talk to people she met, tourists, and
visitors to Trent Park and the Forest. Intercourse with them broadened
her views; she regarded Carl Meason as one of them and he had proved
agreeable.

As for Carl Meason, he was eager to meet her again; he had few scruples
where such girls as Jane Thrush were concerned, and he felt he had made
a favorable impression which he meant to cultivate.

"She's a very pretty lass indeed," he said to himself. "Quite
innocent, sees no harm in anything, not even me. I'll beard her father
in his cottage; it won't take me long to find out his weaknesses, I'm
used to it. I'm glad I spoke to her; she'll help to kill time in this
infernal slow hole. I shall be glad when things get a move on. By
Jove, if the folks round here ever find out what I am when the business
begins in earnest, there'll be ructions. I shall have to clear out
quick. There's a lot of risk in what I'm doing but the pay's good and
it will be a lot better later on. What fools they are in England!
Can't see danger, never suspect anybody."

Jane spoke to her father about meeting Carl Meason. He did not
consider it anything out of the way for his daughter to walk to the
village with him; he knew she was often asked questions about the
neighborhood by strangers; sometimes he showed them round when they
made it worth his while; he was always eager to add a few pounds to his
store. He had every confidence in Jane; she was self-reliant