Soonthelistenerscouldhearnothingoftheirproceedingsbeyondthefaintestoccasionalrustleofleaves。GrammerwhisperedagaintoMarty：“Whydidn’tyegoandtryyourluckwiththerestofthemaids？”
“Idon’tbelieveinit。”saidMarty，shortly。
“Why，halftheparishishere——thesillyhussiesshouldhavekeptitquiet。IseeMr。Winterbornethroughtheleaves，justcomeupwithRobertCreedle。Marty，weoughttoacttheparto’
Providencesometimes。Dogoandtellhimthatifhestandsjustbehindthebushatthebottomoftheslope，MissGracemustpassdownitwhenshecomesback，andshewillmostlikelyrushintohisarms；forassoonastheclockstrikes，they’llbundlebackhome——alonglikehares。I’veseensuchlarriesbefore。”
“DoyouthinkI’dbetter？”saidMarty，reluctantly。