her all returned to the valley. Will
was due in half an hour from Newtake, and Phoebe, as a special favour,
had been permitted to dine at Mrs. Blanchard's cottage with her husband
and his family. Clement Hicks had also promised to be of the party; but
that was before the trouble of the previous week, and Chris knew he
would not come.

Meantime, Gaffer Lezzard, supported by two generations of his family,
explained his reasons for objecting to Mr. Blee's proposed marriage.

"Mrs. Coomstock be engaged, right and reg'lar, to me," he declared.
"She'd gived me her word 'fore ever Blee axed her. I seed her essterday,
to hear final 'pon the subjec', an' she tawld me straight, bein' sober
as you at the time, as 't was _me_ she wanted an' meant for to have. She
was excited t' other day an' not mistress of herself ezacally; an' the
crafty twoad took advantage of it, an' jawed, an' made her drink an'
drink till her didn't knaw what her was sayin' or doin'. But she'm mine,
an' she'll tell 'e same as what I do; so theer's an end on 't."

"I'll see Mrs. Coomstock," said the Vicar. "I, myself will visit her
to-morrow."

"Canst punish this man for tryin' to taake her from me?"

"Permit yourself no mean desires in the direction of revenge. For the
present I decline to say more upon the subject. If it were possible to
punish, and I am not prepared to say it is not, it would be for brawling
in the house of God. After an experience extending over forty years, I
may declare that I never saw any such disreputable and horrifying
spectacle."

So the Lezzard family withdrew and, on the following day, Mrs. Coomstock
passed through most painful experiences.

To the clergyman, with many sighs and tears, she explained that Mr.
Lezzard's character had been maligned by Mr. Blee, that before the
younger veteran she had almost feared for her life, and been driven to
accept him out of sheer terror at his importunity. But when facts came
to her ears afterwards, she found that Mr. Lezzard was in reality all he
had declared himself to be, and therefore returned to him, threw over
Mr. Blee, and begged the other to forbid the banns, if as she secretly
learnt, though not from Billy himself, they were to be called on that
Sunday. The poor woman's ears tingled under Mr. Shorto-Champernowne's
sonorous reproof; but he departed at last, and by the time that Billy
called, during the same day, she had imbibed Dutch courage sufficient to
face him and tell him