e," said the lawyer, looking sufficiently
conscious, "but I happen to know he would be a better tenant to Maxfield
than the old man."

Mr Pottinger amused himself with making a little mystery about a matter
that was no secret to Captain Oliphant. That gallant gentleman knew as
well as the lawyer did that Mr Pottinger himself, whose land adjoined
Hodder's, was the eligible tenant in question.

"There will be no difficulty about that, Pottinger. Of course, you must
give Hodder the option of offering your friend's price. If he does not,
it is clearly the duty of the executors to take the better tenant."

He took up his hat and turned to go.

"By the way," said he at the door, "it will hardly be necessary, I take
it, to go through the farce of bringing a trifling matter of this kind
before the other executors; Mrs Ingleton should really be spared all
worry of this sort; and as for the other one--well, he chooses to be
somewhere else."

"Quite so, quite so. If you and Mrs Ingleton sign the lease it will be
sufficient," said Mr Pottinger.

Unluckily for the pleasantly arranged plan of these two good gentlemen,
Miss Rosalind Oliphant took it into her pretty head a day or so
afterwards to call at old Hodder's cottage in passing, to ask for a
glass of milk. The young lady was in a very discontented frame of mind.
She was angry with Mr Armstrong for staying away so long. Not that
she cared what he did, but till he came back she felt she did not know
the full extent of the forces arrayed against her at Maxfield; and she
wanted to know the worst. Besides, although Roger was diligently
prosecuting his art studies and displaying the most docile obedience to
her discipline, she could not help thinking he would not have taken to
art except to please her; and that displeased her mightily. Besides,
Tom, her brother, was too silly for anything; he insisted on enjoying
himself, whoever else was miserable; and Jill was very little better.
Altogether, Miss Oliphant was out of humour, and felt this walk would do
her good.

She found the Hodder family in mighty tribulation. The old man sat in
his corner with his hat on the floor beside him, crying and boohing like
a child. And his two little granddaughters looked on at his grief, pale
and half-frightened, knowing something bad had happened, but unable to
guess what.

"Why, Hodder," said Miss Rosalind, "whatever's the matter? What a noise
you're making! What has happened?"