aw you can get before lang."

Kit set off as fast as he could walk and, stopping for a minute at
Ashness, sent his men. Then he went on to Allerby and at first found
the farmers unwilling to move, but after some argument they went with
him to the mill.

"We'll hear what miller has to say," one remarked. "He kens maist aboot
the job, sin' he had t' mend t' lade when Hayes refused. For aw that,
mending dyke is landlord's business."

"I'll not stir a hand to save Osborn's crops," the miller declared when
he met them at the door. "His oad rogue o' an agent promised me he'd
build up brocken lade, but when time came I had to do't mysel'."

Two of the others grumbled about promises Hayes had not kept, and then
Kit said, "All this is not important. I don't ask you to mend the dyke
for Osborn's sake but yours. If the beck breaks through and runs down to
Allerby, it will spoil all the hay and fill the mill-lead with rubbish."

"Then we'll get compensation. Landlord's bound to keep dyke in order."

Kit smiled. "You'll get nothing, unless you go to law and I don't know if
you'll get much then. Hayes is clever and the dispute would be expensive.
You'll certainly find it cheaper to mend the dyke."

They pondered this, until the miller made a sign of agreement.

"I'll not can say you're wrang. I'm coming with my two men."

Kit told him to bring a horse and cart and the party set off for the
threatened bank. The beck had risen while Kit was away and stones and
soil slipped down into the flood. An angry turmoil indicated that the
current had rolled the rubbish into a dam.

"We've gotten our job," said the miller as he drove in his spade.

They got to work, but the current that undermined the bank brought down
the turf and soil with which they tried to fill the holes. It was plain
that a stronger material was needed and Kit sent some men to a
roadmaker's quarry at the bottom of the fell while he rearranged some
harness. When he had finished he fastened an extra horse outside the
shafts of the carts and two men drove the teams across the field. They
went off fast, jolting the carts by their clumsy trot, but Kit knew the
extra horse would be needed when they returned. Soon afterwards, Osborn
came up the other bank and stopped opposite with the rain running off his
mackintosh.

"Has anybody given you leave to meddle with the dyke?" he asked.

"No," said Kit. "We'll let it alone, if you like, but there won't be much
of your hay