oughts at times made her
shiver. Little as she had noticed them before, she could now recall
scores of attentions on the gardener's part, all of which evidently
meant love. The warm apples from his pockets; the bunches of grapes;
the peaches and nectarines; and the roses on Sundays; besides which, for
months past it had been his habit to grin at her very widely, so as to
show the whole of his teeth--loving smiles, no doubt, while now that he
had seen those footsteps beneath her window, what would he do?

She asked herself another question, without trying to answer the former.
What had he been doing there himself?

She told herself at last that he would lay no information against her,
but that he would watch carefully, and then there would be perhaps a
fight between him and Gurdon, who would be sure to come again, for he
must have known that she was about to give way to his appeal.

It was plain enough now why Gurdon and McCray had always been such bad
friends, quarrelling fiercely, till McCray would tauntingly ask the
butler when he meant to use the flower-beds again, because he--the
gardener--never liked pigs to sleep in his beds without straw. Jane had
never troubled herself about McCray before, but she felt that she must
now--that she was bound to do so, for most likely he would get help, and
Gurdon, if he came, would be seized for trespassing. It was no use, she
could not help it, she declared, and as soon as she found herself at
liberty she determined to seek McCray, and trust to her woman's wit for
disarming him, should his designs be inimical.

Then she shrank back from the task, for it would be like putting herself
in his power, and for a long time poor Jane's mind was a chaos of
conflicting doubts. At last, though, she felt determined, and she set
off in the direction of the gardener's cottage, telling herself that
come what might Gurdon should get into no further trouble.

There was no one at the cottage, and on making inquiry of another of the
gardeners, she learned that McCray had gone with a cart to the town to
bring back some shrubs sent from some great nurseryman in London.

"But I'll tell him you've been looking after him, Miss Jenny; and he'll
be ready to jump out of his boots for joy."

"Don't talk nonsense, Johnson," said Jane, archly. "Just as if there
was anything between us!"

"Of course there isn't--nothing at all," laughed the gardener. "There's
nothing at all between you, and you'