one day when dad comes home to get his dinner he tells
mother as how there's a lot of gentlemen come down from London for the
shooting, and as he'd got orders to be on hand bright and early next
morning,--the meaning of that being that he'd have to spend the night at
the Castle. Mother didn't say much; 'twasn't her way to carry on when
she knew a thing couldn't be helped, and dad went on talking.

"'To-morrow's quarter-day, Polly, and you've got our rent all right for
the agent when he comes. Put this along wi' it, lass, it's Tom Regan's,
and he's asked me to hand it over for him and save the miles of
walking.'

"I don't know what come to mother, whether something warned her, or
what, but she give a sort of jump as dad spoke.

"'Oh, Jim,' says she, all in a twitter, 'you're never going to leave all
that money here, and you away, and the child and me all alone. Can't
you--can't you leave one of the dogs?'

"Dad stared at her. 'No,' he says, 'I can't, more's the pity. They're
all wanted to-morrow, and I've sent them on to the Castle. Why, Polly,
lass, what's come to you? I've never known you take on like this
before.'

"Then mother, seeing how troubled and uneasy he looked, plucked up heart
and told him, trying to laugh, never to mind her--she had only been
feeling a bit low, and it made her timid like. But dad didn't laugh in
answer, only said very grave that if he'd ha' known she felt that way,
he'd have took good care she wasn't ever left alone overnight. This
should be the last time, he'd see to that, and anyhow he'd take the
rent money with him and wouldn't leave it to trouble her. Then he kissed
her, and kissed me, and went off, striding away over the moors towards
Farnington--the sunset way I called it, 'cause the sun set over there;
and I can see him big and tall like Ben here, moving away among the
heather till we lost him at the dip of the moor. And I mind how, just
before we saw no more of him, he pulled up and looked back, as if
mother's words stuck to him, somehow, and he couldn't get them out of
his mind.

"Mother seemed queer and anxious all that afternoon. Long before dusk
she called me in from playing in the bit of garden in front of the door,
and shut and barred it closely, not so much as letting me stand outside
to watch the sunset, as I always liked to do. It was getting dark
already, the shadows had begun to fall black and gloomy all round the
cottage, and the fire was sending queer dancing gle