ow, droning voice, bit by bit, the miller took himself off and went
into the house.

At the back of the mill, perched on an old projecting beam, in the
midst of dust and dirt, assisting with all the energy of youth in the
demolition of the roof, Mr. Fenwick saw Sam Brattle. He perceived at
once that Sam had seen him; but the young man immediately averted his
eyes and went on with his work. The parson did not speak at once, but
stepped over the ruins around him till he came immediately under the
beam in question. Then he called to the lad, and Sam was constrained
to answer "Yes, Mr. Fenwick, I am here;--hard at work, as you see."

"I do see it, and wish you luck with your job. Spare me ten minutes,
and come down and speak to me."

"I am in such a muck now, Mr. Fenwick, that I do wish to go on with
it, if you'll let me."

But Mr. Fenwick, having taken so much trouble to get at the young
man, was not going to be put off in this way. "Never mind your muck
for a quarter of an hour," he said. "I have come here on purpose to
find you, and I must speak to you."

"Must!" said Sam, looking down with a very angry lower on his face.

"Yes,--must. Don't be a fool now. You know that I do not wish to
injure you. You are not such a coward as to be afraid to speak to me.
Come down."

"Afeard! Who talks of being afeard? Stop a moment, Mr. Fenwick, and
I'll be with you;--not that I think it will do any good." Then slowly
he crept back along the beam and came down through the interior of
the building. "What is it, Mr. Fenwick? Here I am. I ain't a bit
afeard of you at any rate."

"Where have you been the last fortnight, Sam?"

"What right have you to ask me, Mr. Fenwick?"

"I have the right of old friendship, and perhaps also some right from
my remembrance of the last place in which I saw you. What has become
of that man, Burrows?"

"What Burrows?"

"Jack the Grinder, whom I hit on the back the night I made you
prisoner. Do you think that you were doing well in being in my garden
about midnight in company with such a fellow as that,--one of the
most notorious jailbirds in the county? Do you know that I could have
had you arrested and sent to prison at once?"

"I know you couldn't--do nothing of the kind."

"You know this, Sam,--that I've no wish to do it; that nothing would
give me more pain than doing it. But you must feel that if we should
hear now of any depredation about the county, we couldn't,--I at
least could not