th shall we do if that wild beast shows himself suddenly
among us women?" asked Mrs Greenow of her brother.

The brother could only say, "that he hoped the wild beast would keep
his distance."

And the wild beast did keep his distance, at any rate as long as Mrs
Greenow remained at the Hall. We will now go back to the wild beast,
and tell how he walked across the mountains, in the rain, to Bampton,
a little village at the foot of Haweswater. It will be remembered
that after he had struck his sister, he turned away from her, and
walked with quick steps down the mountain-side, never turning back
to look at her. He had found himself to be without any power of
persuasion over her, as regarded her evidence to be given, if the
will were questioned. The more he threatened her the steadier she had
been in asserting her belief in her grandfather's capacity. She had
looked into his eye and defied him, and he had felt himself to be
worsted. What was he to do? In truth, there was nothing for him to
do. He had told her that he would murder her; and in the state of
mind to which his fury had driven him, murder had suggested itself
to him as a resource to which he might apply himself. But what could
he gain by murdering her,--or, at any rate, by murdering her then,
out on the mountain-side? Nothing but a hanging! There would be
no gratification even to his revenge. If, indeed, he had murdered
that old man, who was now, unfortunately, gone beyond the reach of
murder;--if he could have poisoned the old man's cup before that last
will had been made--there might have been something in such a deed!
But he had merely thought of it, letting "I dare not wait upon I
would"--as he now told himself, with much self-reproach. Nothing was
to be got by killing his sister. So he restrained himself in his
passion, and walked away from her, solitary, down the mountain.

The rain soon came on, and found him exposed on the hill-side. He
thought little about it, but buttoned his coat, as I have said
before, and strode on. It was a storm of rain, so that he was forced
to hold his head to one side, as it hit him from the north. But with
his hand to his hat, and his head bent against the wind, he went on
till he had reached the valley at the foot, and found that the track
by which he had been led thither had become a road. He had never
known the mountains round the Hall as Kate had known them, and was
not aware whither he was going. On one thing only had