don’tknow。”hesaid。“’Tisatryingstrait。Well，well；there’snohurry。We’llwaitandseehowhegetson。”
Thateveninghecalledherintohisroom，asnuglittleapartmentbehindthelargeparlor。Ithadatonetimebeenpartofthebakehouse，withtheordinaryovalbrickoveninthewall；butMr。
Melbury，inturningitintoanoffice，hadbuiltintothecavityanironsafe，whichheusedforholdinghisprivatepapers。Thedoorofthesafewasnowopen，andhiskeyswerehangingfromit。
“Sitdown，Grace，andkeepmecompany。”hesaid。“Youmayamuseyourselfbylookingoverthese。”Hethrewoutaheapofpapersbeforeher。
“Whatarethey？”sheasked。
“Securitiesofvarioussorts。”Heunfoldedthemonebyone。
“Papersworthsomuchmoneyeach。Nowhere’salotofturnpikebondsforonething。Wouldyouthinkthateachofthesepiecesofpaperisworthtwohundredpounds？”
“No，indeed，ifyoudidn’tsayso。”
“’Tisso，then。Nowherearepapersofanothersort。Theyarefordifferentsumsinthethree-per-cents。NowthesearePortBreedyHarborbonds。Wehaveagreatstakeinthatharbor，youknow，becauseIsendofftimberthere。Opentherestatyourpleasure。They’llinterestye。”
“Yes，Iwill，someday。”saidshe，rising。
“Nonsense，openthemnow。Yououghttolearnalittleofsuchmatters。Ayoungladyofeducationshouldnotbeignorantofmoneyaffairsaltogether。Supposeyoushouldbeleftawidowsomeday，withyourhusband’stitle-deedsandinvestmentsthrownuponyourhands——“
“Don’tsaythat，father——title-deeds；itsoundssovain！”
“Itdoesnot。Cometothat，Ihavetitle-deedsmyself。There，thatpieceofparchmentrepresentshousesinShertonAbbas。”
“Yes，but——“Shehesitated，lookedatthefire，andwentoninalowvoice：“Ifwhathasbeenarrangedaboutmeshouldcometoanything，myspherewillbequiteamiddlingone。”
“Yoursphereoughtnottobemiddling。”heexclaimed，notinpassion，butinearnestconviction。“Yousaidyouneverfeltmoreathome，moreinyourelement，anywherethanyoudidthatafternoonwithMrs。Charmond，whensheshowedyouherhouseandallherknick-knacks，andmadeyoustaytoteasonicelyinherdrawing-room——surelyyoudid！”
“Yes，Ididsayso。”admittedGrace。
“Wasittrue？”
“Yes，Ifeltsoatthetime。Thefeelingislessstrongnow，perhaps。”
“Ah！Now，thoughyoudon’tseeit，yourfeelingatthetimewastherightone，becauseyourmindandbodywerejustinfullandfreshcultivation，sothatgoingtherewithherwaslikemeetinglike。Sincethenyou’vebeenbidingwithus，andhavefallenbackalittle，andsoyoudon’tfeelyourplacesostrongly。Now，doasItellye，andlookoverthesepapersandseewhatyou’llbeworthsomeday。Forthey’llallbeyours，youknow；whohaveI
gottoleave’emtobutyou？Perhapswhenyoureducationisbackedupbywhatthesepapersrepresent，andthatbackedupbyanothersuchasetandtheirowner，mensuchasthatfellowwasthismorningmaythinkyoualittlemorethanabuffer’sgirl。”
Soshedidascommanded，andopenedeachofthefoldedrepresentativesofhardcashthatherfatherputbeforeher。Tosowinherheartcravingsforsocialpositionwasobviouslyhisstrongdesire，thoughindirectantagonismtoabetterfeelingwhichhadhithertoprevailedwithhim，andhad，indeed，onlysuccumbedthatmorningduringtheramble。
Shewishedthatshewasnothisworldlyhope；theresponsibilityofsuchapositionwastoogreat。Shehadmadeitforherselfmainlybyherappearanceandattractivebehaviortohimsinceherreturn。“IfIhadonlycomehomeinashabbydress，andtriedtospeakroughly，thismightnothavehappened。”shethought。Shedeploredlessthefactthanthesadpossibilitiesthatmightliehiddentherein。
Herfathertheninsisteduponherlookingoverhischeckbookandreadingthecounterfoils。This，also，sheobedientlydid，andatlastcametotwoorthreewhichhadbeendrawntodefraysomeofthelateexpensesofherclothes，board，andeducation。
“I，too，costagooddeal，likethehorsesandwagonsandcorn。”
shesaid，lookingupsorrily。
“Ididn’twantyoutolookatthose；Imerelymeanttogiveyouanideaofmyinvestmenttransactions。Butifyoudocostasmuchasthey，nevermind。You’llyieldabetterreturn。”
“Don’tthinkofmelikethat！”shebegged。“Amerechattel。”
“Awhat？Oh，adictionaryword。Well，asthat’sinyourlineI
don’tforbidit，evenifittellsagainstme。”hesaid，good-
humoredly。Andhelookedherproudlyupanddown。
AfewminuteslaterGrammerOlivercametotellthemthatsupperwasready，andingivingtheinformationsheadded，incidentally，“SoweshallsoonlosethemistressofHintockHouseforsometime，Ihear，MaisterMelbury。Yes，she’sgoingofftoforeignpartsto-morrow，fortherestofthewintermonths；andbe-chok’difIdon’twishIcoulddothesame，formywynd-pipeisfurredlikeaflue。”
Whentheoldwomanhadlefttheroom，Melburyturnedtohisdaughterandsaid，“So，Grace，you’velostyournewfriend，andyourchanceofkeepinghercompanyandwritinghertravelsisquitegonefromye！”
Gracesaidnothing。
“Now。”hewenton，emphatically，“’tisWinterborne’saffairhasdonethis。Ohyes，’tis。Soletmesayoneword。Promisemethatyouwillnotmeethimagainwithoutmyknowledge。”
“Ineverdomeethim，father，eitherwithoutyourknowledgeorwithit。”
“Somuchthebetter。Idon’tlikethelookofthisatall。AndI
sayitnotoutofharshnesstohim，poorfellow，butoutoftendernesstoyou。Forhowcouldawoman，broughtupdelicatelyasyouhavebeen，beartheroughnessofalifewithhim？”
Shesighed；itwasasighofsympathywithGiles，complicatedbyasenseoftheintractabilityofcircumstances。
Atthatsamehour，andalmostatthatsameminute，therewasaconversationaboutWinterborneinprogressinthevillagestreet，oppositeMr。Melbury’sgates，whereTimothyTangstheelderandRobertCreedlehadaccidentallymet。
ThesawyerwasaskingCreedleifhehadheardwhatwasallovertheparish，theskinofhisfacebeingdrawntwowaysonthematter——towardsbrightnessinrespectofitasnews，andtowardsconcerninrespectofitascircumstance。
“Why，thatpoorlittlelonesomething，MartySouth，islikelytoloseherfather。Hewasalmostwell，butismuchworseagain。A
manallskinandgriefheeverwere，andifheleaveLittleHintockforabetterland，won’titmakesomedifferencetoyourMaisterWinterborne，neighborCreedle？”
“CanIbeaprophetinIsrael？”saidCreedle。“Won’tit！Iwasonlyshapingofsuchathingyesterdayinmypoor，long-seeingway，andalltheworkofthehouseuponmyoneshoulders！Youknowwhatitmeans？ItisuponJohnSouth’slifethatallMr。
Winterborne’shouseshang。IfsobeSouthdie，andsomakehisdecease，thereuponthelawisthatthehousesfallwithouttheleastchanceofabsolutionintoHERhandsattheHouse。Itoldhimso；butthewordsofthefaithfulbeonlyaswind！”
Thenewswastrue。Thelife——theonefragilelife——thathadbeenusedasameasuring-tapeoftimebylaw，wasindangerofbeingfrayedaway。Itwasthelastofagroupofliveswhichhadservedthispurpose，attheendofwhosebreathingsthesmallhomesteadoccupiedbySouthhimself，thelargeroneofGilesWinterborne，andhalfadozenothersthathadbeeninthepossessionofvariousHintockvillagefamiliesfortheprevioushundredyears，andwerenowWinterborne’s，wouldfallinandbecomepartoftheencompassingestate。
YetashorttwomonthsearlierMarty’sfather，agedfifty-fiveyears，thoughsomethingofafidgety，anxiousbeing，wouldhavebeenlookedonasamanwhoseexistencewassofarremovedfromhazardousasanyintheparish，andasbiddingfairtobeprolongedforanotherquarterofacentury。
Winterbornewalkedupanddownhisgardennextdaythinkingofthecontingency。Thesensethatthepathshewaspacing，thecabbage-
plots，theapple-trees，hisdwelling，cider-cellar，wring-house，stables，andweathercock，wereallslippingawayoverhisheadandbeneathhisfeet，asiftheywerepaintedonamagic-lanternslide，wascurious。InspiteofJohnSouth’slateindispositionhehadnotanticipateddanger。Toinquireconcerninghishealthhadbeentoshowlesssympathythantoremainsilent，consideringthematerialinteresthepossessedinthewoodman’slife，andhehad，accordingly，madeapointofavoidingMarty’shouse。
Whilehewashereinthegardensomebodycametofetchhim。ItwasMartyherself，andsheshowedherdistressbyherunconsciousnessofacroppedpoll。
“Fatherisstillsomuchtroubledinhismindaboutthattree。”
shesaid。“YouknowthetreeImean，Mr。Winterborne？thetalloneinfrontofthehouse，thathethinkswillblowdownandkillus。Canyoucomeandseeifyoucanpersuadehimoutofhisnotion？Icandonothing。”