circumscribed. These farmers were talking of their Squire's return to
the county--of his sequestered mode of life--of his peculiar habits--of
the great unfinished house which was left to rot. The Fawley tenant then
said that it might not, be left to rot after all, and that the village
workmen had been lately employed, and still were, in getting some of the
rooms into rough order; and then he spoke of the long gallery in which
the Squire had been arranging his fine pictures, and how he had run up
a passage between that gallery and his own room, and how he would
spend hours at day, and night too, in that awful long room as lone as a
churchyard; and that Mr. Mills had said that his master now lived almost
entirely either in that gallery or in the room in the roof of the old
house--quite cut off, as you might say, except from the eyes of those
dead pictures, or the rats, which had grown so excited at having their
quarters in the new building invaded, that if you peeped in at the
windows in moonlit nights you might see them in dozens, sitting on their
haunches, as if holding council, or peering at the curious old things
which lay beside the crates out of which they had been taken. Then the
rustic gossips went on to talk of the rent-day which was at hand--of the
audit feast, which, according to immemorial custom, was given at the
old Manor-house on that same rent-day--supposed that Mr. Fairthorn would
preside--that the Squire himself would not appear--made some incidental
observations on their respective rents and wheat-crops-remarked that
they should have a good moonlight for their ride back from the audit
feast--cautioned each other, laughing, not to drink too much of Mr.
Fairthorn's punch--and finally went their way, leaving on the mind of
Jasper Losely--who, leaning his scheming head on his powerful hand, had
appeared in dull sleep all the while--these two facts: 1st, That on
the third day from that which was then declining, sums amounting to
thousands would find their way into Fawley Manor-house; and, 2ndly, That
a communication existed between the unfinished, uninhabited building,
and Darrell's own solitary chamber. As soon as he had fortified himself
by food and drink, Jasper rose, paid for his refreshments and walked
forth. Noiseless and rapid, skirting the hedgerows by the lane that led
to Fawley, and scarcely distinguishable under their shadow, the human
wild-beast strided on in scent of its quarry. It was night when