a sort of half motion towards touching his hat, but
couldn't quite carry it through, and so passed by.

"Ah! ain't he a going of it again," he muttered to himself; "jest
like 'em all."

Tom didn't hear the words, but the look had been quite enough for
him, and he broke off short in his speech, and turned his head
away, and, after two or three flounderings which Mary seemed not
to notice, stopped short, and let Miss Winter and Hardy join
them.

"It's getting dark," he said, as they came up; "the Walk is
thinning; ought we not to be going? Remember, I am in charge."

"Yes, I think it is time."

At this moment the great Christchurch bell--Tom by name--began to
toll.

"Surely that can't be Tom?" Miss Winter said, who had heard the
one hundred and one strokes on former occasions.

"Indeed it is, though."

"But how very light it is."

"It is almost the longest day in the year, and there hasn't been
a cloud all day."

They started to walk home all together, and Tom gradually
recovered himself, but left the labouring oar to Hardy, who did
his work very well, and persuaded the ladies to go on and see the
Ratcliffe by moonlight--the only time to see it, as he said,
because of the shadows--and just to look in at the old quadrangle
of St. Ambrose.

It was almost ten o'clock when they stopped at the lodgings in
High-street. While they were waiting for the door to be opened,
Hardy said--

"I really must apologize, Miss Winter, to you, for my intrusion
to-night. I hope your father will allow me to call on him."

"Oh yes! pray do; he will be so glad to see any friend of my
cousin's."

"And if I can be of any use to him; or to you, or your sister--"

"My sister! Oh, you mean Mary? She is not my sister."

"I beg your pardon. But I hope you will let me know if there is
anything I can do for you."

"Indeed we will. Now, Mary, papa will be worrying about us." And
so the young ladies said their adieus and disappeared.

"Surely you told me they were sisters," said Hardy, as the two
walked away towards college.

"No, did I? I don't remember."

"But they are your cousins?"

"Yes, at least Katie is. Don't you like her?"

"Of course, one can't help liking her. But she says you have not
met for two years or more."

"No more we have."

"Then I suppose you have seen more of her companion lately?"

"Well, if you must know, I never saw her before yesterday."

"You don't mean to say that you took me in there tonig