the large, vacant,
old apartment, she grew quieter, and at last calm. At length she took
the candle and ascended to her bedroom, where she bathed her eyes and
looked in the glass to see if she had made herself a dreadful object. It
was not so bad as she had expected, and she went downstairs again.

Nobody was there, and, sitting down, she wondered what Bob had really
meant by his words. It was too dreadful to think that he intended to go
straight away to sea without seeing her again, and frightened at what she
had done she waited anxiously for his return.

XL. A CALL ON BUSINESS

Her suspense was interrupted by a very gentle tapping at the door, and
then the rustle of a hand over its surface, as if searching for the latch
in the dark. The door opened a few inches, and the alabaster face of
Uncle Benjy appeared in the slit.

'O, Squire Derriman, you frighten me!'

'All alone?' he asked in a whisper.

'My mother and Mr. Loveday are somewhere about the house.'

'That will do,' he said, coming forward. 'I be wherrited out of my life,
and I have thought of you again--you yourself, dear Anne, and not the
miller. If you will only take this and lock it up for a few days till I
can find another good place for it--if you only would!' And he
breathlessly deposited the tin box on the table.

'What, obliged to dig it up from the cellar?'

'Ay; my nephew hath a scent of the place--how, I don't know! but he and a
young woman he's met with are searching everywhere. I worked like a wire-
drawer to get it up and away while they were scraping in the next cellar.
Now where could ye put it, dear? 'Tis only a few documents, and my will,
and such like, you know. Poor soul o' me, I'm worn out with running and
fright!'

'I'll put it here till I can think of a better place,' said Anne, lifting
the box. 'Dear me, how heavy it is!'

'Yes, yes,' said Uncle Benjy hastily; 'the box is iron, you see. However,
take care of it, because I am going to make it worth your while. Ah, you
are a good girl, Anne. I wish you was mine!'

Anne looked at Uncle Benjy. She had known for some time that she
possessed all the affection he had to bestow.

'Why do you wish that?' she said simply.

'Now don't ye argue with me. Where d'ye put the coffer?'

'Here,' said Anne, going to the window-seat, which rose as a flap,
disclosing a boxed receptacle beneath, as in many old houses.

''Tis very well for the present,' he said dubio