ng your own
has been too much for you. I wonder whether you and my uncle had
contrived it all between you beforehand?"

"You will not dare to ask him, because he is a man," said Kate, her
eyes brimming with tears, not through fear, but in very vexation at
the nature of the charge he had brought against her.

"Shall I not? You will see what I dare do. As for you, with all your
promises--. Kate, you know that I keep my word. Say that you will do
as I desire you, or I will be the death of you."

"Do you mean that you will murder me?" said she.

"Murder you! yes; why not? Treated as I have been among you, do you
suppose that I shall stick at anything? Why should I not murder
you--you and Alice, too, seeing how you have betrayed me?"

"Poor Alice!" As she spoke the words she looked straight into his
eyes, as though defying him, as far as she herself were concerned.

"Poor Alice, indeed! D---- hypocrite! There's a pair of you; cursed,
whining, false, intriguing hypocrites. There; go down and tell your
uncle and that old woman there that I threatened to murder you. Tell
the judge so, when you're brought into court to swear me out of my
property. You false liar!" Then he pushed her from him with great
violence, so that she fell heavily upon the stony ground.

He did not stop to help her up, or even to look at her as she lay,
but walked away across the heath, neither taking the track on towards
Haweswater, nor returning by the path which had brought them thither.
He went away northwards across the wild fell; and Kate, having risen
up and seated herself on a small cairn of stones which stood there,
watched him as he descended the slope of the hill till he was out of
sight. He did not run, but he seemed to move rapidly, and he never
once turned round to look at her. He went away, down the hill
northwards, and presently the curving of the ground hid him from her
view.

When she first seated herself her thoughts had been altogether of
him. She had feared no personal injury, even when she had asked him
whether he would murder her. Her blood had been hot within her veins,
and her heart had been full of defiance. Even yet she feared nothing,
but continued to think of him and his misery, and his disgrace. That
he was gone for ever, utterly and irretrievably ruined, thrown out,
as it were, beyond the pale of men, was now certain to her. And this
was the brother in whom she had believed; for whom she had not only
been willing to