were badly off; he had only been to see them twice since
their marriage, when they had appeared to be comfortable. And he had
always supposed that money was to be had in London almost for the
asking. In fact, he was one of the old-fashioned sort, and never
troubled himself about London ways; and he did not think his sister's
affairs any concern of his. But if Mary was so badly off, and it was a
help to her to get Juliet out of the way, why Juliet might stay as
long as she liked. One mouth more would not make much difference. He
could not say fairer than that, could he?

Mrs. Rowles was quite content with the fairness of his speech; and she
went into the house, brought out from her cupboard some odds and ends
for supper, and then lighted the lamp and called in her husband and
the children.

"Suppose you say grace, Juliet," said Mr. Rowles. He quite expected to
find that she did not know what he meant.

But she spoke the right words clearly and reverently.

When they had nearly finished their supper, Rowles suddenly turned to
Juliet, saying, "Your father has his supper along of your breakfast,
don't he?"

"Yes," replied Juliet, "when we have a breakfast."

"Don't you always have a breakfast?"

"Most days, when mother has got on with her work."

Rowles turned away.

A cry of "Lock-man! Hie! Lock-man!" sounded on the calm evening air.

Rowles went out, and his voice was heard in conversation with that of
another man; then the lifting up of the sluices broke the stillness,
and the creaking of the lock-gate as it opened. After that Rowles came
in again, laughing scornfully.

"It was the chap that slipped into the water this morning. He is a
persevering chap, to be sure. He says he is determined to learn to
row, and to swim, and to punt, and to fish. And he went down this
afternoon, and now he's gone up, and he is dead-beat already; and how
he'll get home he can't tell for the life of him. Why, he knows just
as much about boating as Juliet there. I'd like to see him and her
double sculling. They'd just be a pair, they would."

Juliet listened to everything but said little, and when she was
ordered off to bed she silently followed Emily up to the attic, where
Mrs. Rowles had already contrived to make a second little bed on the
floor.

After she was in bed Juliet listened for a long while to the roar of
the weir, wondering at what she thought must be distant thunder. Then
the occasional twitter of a bird, or th