er seeing each other again. You'll never come back."

"Never while we're young. When we're both old, too old to feel any more,
then I'll come back some day, and we'll be friends."

And still his will beat against hers in vain, till at last he stopped;
sick and exhausted.

They went together down the ploughed land into the pastures, and through
the pastures to the mill water. In the opposite field they could see the
brown roof and walls of the shelter.

"What are you going to plant in the Seven Acres field?"

"Barley," he said.

"You can't. It was barley last year."

"Was it?"

They were silent then. Jerrold struggled with his feeling of deadly
sickness. Anne couldn't trust herself to speak. At the Barrow Farm gate
they parted.

ii

Maisie's eyes looked at him across the table, wondering. Her little
drooping mouth was half open with anxiety, as if any minute she was
going to say something. The looking-glass had shown him his haggard and
discoloured face, a face to frighten her. He tried to eat, but the sight
and smell of hot roast mutton sickened him.

"Oh, Jerrold, can't you eat it?"

"No, I can't. I'm sorry."

"There's some cold chicken. Will you have that?"

"No, thanks."

"Try and eat something."

"I can't. I feel sick."

"Don't sit up, then. Go and lie down."

"I will if you don't mind."

He went to his room and was sick. He lay down on his bed and tried to
sleep. His head ached violently and every movement made him heave; he
couldn't sleep; he couldn't lie still; and presently he got up and went
out again, up to the Far Acres field to the ploughing. He couldn't
overcome the physical sickness of his misery, but he could force himself
to move, to tramp up and down the stiff furrows, watching the tractor;
he kept himself going by the sheer strength of his will. The rattle and
clank of the tractor ground into his head, making it ache again. He was
stunned with great blows of noise and pain, so that he couldn't think.
He didn't want to think; he was glad of the abominable sensations that
stopped him. He went from field to field, avoiding the boundaries of the
Barrow Farm lest he should see Anne.

When the sun set and the land darkened he went home.

At dinner he tried to eat, sickened again, and leaned back in his chair;
he forced himself to sit through the meal, talking to Maisie. When it
was over he went to bed and lay awake till the morning.

The next day passed in the same way, and the