speedily plunged himself into toilet
operations, pulled a suit of cloth clothes from a box, and in about
twenty minutes stood before the van-lantern as a reddleman in nothing
but his face, the vermilion shades of which were not to be removed in
a day. Closing the door and fastening it with a padlock, Venn set off
towards Blooms-End.

He had reached the white palings and laid his hand upon the gate when
the door of the house opened, and quickly closed again. A female
form had glided in. At the same time a man, who had seemingly been
standing with the woman in the porch, came forward from the house till
he was face to face with Venn. It was Wildeve again.

"Man alive, you've been quick at it," said Diggory sarcastically.

"And you slow, as you will find," said Wildeve. "And," lowering his
voice, "you may as well go back again now. I've claimed her, and got
her. Good night, reddleman!" Thereupon Wildeve walked away.

Venn's heart sank within him, though it had not risen unduly high.
He stood leaning over the palings in an indecisive mood for nearly
a quarter of an hour. Then he went up the garden path, knocked, and
asked for Mrs. Yeobright.

Instead of requesting him to enter she came to the porch. A discourse
was carried on between them in low measured tones for the space of
ten minutes or more. At the end of the time Mrs. Yeobright went in,
and Venn sadly retraced his steps into the heath. When he had again
regained his van he lit the lantern, and with an apathetic face at
once began to pull off his best clothes, till in the course of a few
minutes he reappeared as the confirmed and irretrievable reddleman
that he had seemed before.

VIII

Firmness Is Discovered in a Gentle Heart

On that evening the interior of Blooms-End, though cosy and
comfortable, had been rather silent. Clym Yeobright was not at home.
Since the Christmas party he had gone on a few days' visit to a friend
about ten miles off.

The shadowy form seen by Venn to part from Wildeve in the porch, and
quickly withdraw into the house, was Thomasin's. On entering she threw
down a cloak which had been carelessly wrapped round her, and came
forward to the light, where Mrs. Yeobright sat at her work-table,
drawn up within the settle, so that part of it projected into the
chimney-corner.

"I don't like your going out after dark alone, Tamsin," said her aunt
quietly, without looking up from her work.

"I have only been just outside the doo