edge and see if we had hit the
best track."

"It's strange!" said Janet. "I thought there was somebody else when I
first came out. Still, of course, it was nearly dark."

Kit was puzzled because he could not tell how much Janet had really seen,
and thought the situation needed careful handling. If she knew Miss
Osborn had been with him, it would be a mistake to make the thing look
significant by pretending that she had not; but it was possible that
Janet did not know. Then Grace had hinted that she did not want their
adventure talked about.

"I don't expect you could see very well if you had just come out from the
light in the kitchen," he replied. "Anyhow, none of the men came with me
and I must go back and tell them not to send off another lot. We'll see
about mending your wall to-morrow, Mrs. Creighton."

He went off to a gate that opened into the lonning. This was the wisest
plan, because he did not want to talk to Janet. He was half afraid of
her, but not because he thought she sympathized with her father's plots;
it was known that Bell and his daughter quarreled. The girl was a
dangerous coquette and had tactfully hinted that she rather approved Kit.
This had alarmed Kit, who knew she was clever and resolute.

When he reached the lane he stopped abruptly as he remembered something,
and took out his pipe, although he did not mean to smoke. He must be
cautious, since he was not sure if Janet had gone in. Striking a match,
he held it between his hands as if he were going to light his pipe and
stooped in the shelter of a wall.

The light shone on the ground and he knitted his brows as he saw sharp
footsteps in the snow. The farm people did not wear boots that would
leave marks like these; moreover, the footsteps would lead anybody who
thought it worth while to follow them to the spot where the sledge upset.
Kit threw down the match, and frowned as he went on again.

CHAPTER X

JANET MEDDLES

Bright moonlight sparkled on the snow when Kit left Ashness to post some
letters he had written ordering new machines. He was young, but since he
came home Peter had allowed much of the business of the farm to fall into
his hands. Kit's judgment was sound; he had studied modern methods at the
agricultural college and was progressive without being rash. For the most
part, his experiments had paid, and Peter sometimes thought the lad's
talents were wasted in the quiet dale. Kit had ability, particularly for
manage