vening when the
contentment begotten of his work had worn off; he wanted to go to the
market town to-morrow. Julia was going to get several necessaries for
the household; he considered that he ought to go too, but she would
not take him.

"You will have a great deal to carry," he protested.

"Yes," Julia agreed; "but I shall manage it."

"It is not fit for you to go about alone," her father urged.

She forebore to smile, though the novelty, not to say tardiness of the
idea amused her; she only said, "It would take you and Johnny too long
to walk into the town; we can't afford to spend too long on the way,
and we can't afford a cart to take us."

The Captain was not convinced; he never was by any one's logic but his
own; perhaps because his own was totally different to all other kinds,
including the painful logic of facts. He sighed deeply. "It is a
strange, a humiliating condition of things," he observed to Mr.
Gillat, "when a father has to ask his daughter's permission to go into
town."

Johnny rubbed the side of his chair thoughtfully, then a bright idea
occurred to him. "Ah, but," he said, "gentlemen always have to ask ladies'
permission before they can accompany them anywhere--especially when it is
the lady of the house."

A wise man might not perhaps have said this last, but Johnny did, and
as it happened, it did not much matter; before the Captain could
answer, Julia rose from the table and began to clear away.

Sundry household jobs had to be done in the evening; some were always
left till then; in these short dark days it was advisable to use the
light for work out of doors. At last, however, all was done, and Julia
began to arrange for to-morrow. The Captain was sulky and sure that he
would have rheumatism and so not be able to go out. His daughter did
not seem to be greatly troubled; she told him of some easy work in the
house he could do, or if he liked and felt able, he would perhaps go
and get more fir-cones; there were plenty, and they saved other fuel.
The Captain replied that he was not in the habit of taking orders from
his children.

Johnny looked unhappy; he did not like these ruffles to the tranquil
life; it always pained him for any one to be dissatisfied, with reason
or without it. When Julia turned to him he was even more ready than
usual to take orders; he would have done anything she told him from
sweeping the copper flue to calling upon the rector, but secretly he
hoped she would gi