“Hemighthavehadtodothat。Shewouldn’thavemindedhisfibbingoutright，somuch，forthenitwouldn’thaveseemedtocomefromhisnature。Butifhejustletherbelievewhatwasn’ttrue，anddidn’tsayawordtopreventher，ofcourseitwasworse。Itshowedsomethingweak，somethingcowardlyinhim。”
Burnamygavealittlecynicallaugh。“Isupposeitdid。Butdon’tyouthinkit’sratherrough，expectingustohaveallthekindsofcourage？”
“Yes，itis。”sheassented。“ThatiswhyIsayshewastooexacting。
Butamanoughn’ttodefendhim。”
Burnamy’slaughhadmorepleasureinit，now。“Anotherwomanmight？”
“No。Shemightexcusehim。”
Heturnedtolookbackatthetwo-spanner；itwasratherfarbehind，andhespoketotheirdriverbiddinghimgoslowlytillitcaughtupwiththem。Bythetimeitdidso，theyweresoclosetoitthattheycoulddistinguishthelinesofitswanderingandbrokenwalls。EversincetheyhadclimbedfromthewoodeddepthsofthehillsaboveCarlsbadtotheopenplateau，ithadshownitselfingreaterandgreaterdetail。Thedetachedmoundofrockonwhichitstoodroselikeanislandinthemidstoftheplain，andcommandedthehighwaysineverydirection。
“Ibelieve。”Burnamybrokeout，withabitternessapparentlyrelevanttotheruinalone，“thatifyouhadn’trequiredanyquarteringsofnobilityfromhim，Stollerwouldhavemadeagoodsortofrobberbaron。He’sarobberbaronbynature，now，andhewouldn’thaveanyscrupleinlevyingtributeonushereinourone-spanner，ifhiscastlewasingoodrepairandhiscrossbowmenwerenotonastrike。Buttheywouldbeonastrike，probably，andthenhewouldlockthemout，andemploynonebutnon-unioncrossbowmen。”
IfMissTriscoeunderstoodthathearraignedthemoralityaswellasthecivilityofhisemployer，shedidnottakehimmoreseriouslythanhemeant，apparently，forshesmiledasshesaid，“Idon’tseehowyoucanhaveanythingtodowithhim，ifyoufeelsoabouthim。”
“Oh。”Burnamyrepliedinkind，“hebuysmypovertyandnotmywill。AndperhapsifIthoughtbetterofmyself，Ishouldrespecthimmore。”
“Haveyoubeendoingsomethingverywicked？”
“Whatshouldyouhavetosaytome，ifIhad？”hebantered。
“Oh，Ishouldhavenothingatalltosaytoyou。”shemockedback。
Theyturnedacornerofthehighway，anddroverattlingthroughavillagestreetupalongslopetotheroundedhillwhichitcrowned。Achurchatitsbaselookedoutuponanirregularsquare。
Agauntfigureofaman，withastaringmask，whichseemedtohideadarklingmindwithin，cameoutofthechurch，andlockeditbehindhim。
Heprovedtobethesacristan，andthekeeperofallthevillage’sclaimsuponthevisitors’interest；hemastered，afteramoment，theirwishesinrespecttothecastle，andshowedthepaththatledtoit；atthetop，hesaid，theywouldfindacustodianoftheruinswhowouldadmitthem。
The，pathtothecastleslantedupwardacrosstheshoulderofthehill，toacertainpoint，andtheresomerudestonestepsmountedmoredirectly。Wildinglilac-bushes，asiffromsomeforgottengarden，borderedtheascent；thechickoryopeneditsblueflower；thecleanbitterodorofvermouthrosefromthetroddenturf；butNaturespreadsnosuchlavishfeastinwoodorfieldintheOldWorldasshespoilsuswithintheNew；afewkinds，repeatedagainandagain，seemtobeallherstore，andmanmustmakethemostofthem。MissTriscoeseemedtofindflowersenoughinthesimplebouquetwhichBurnamyputtogetherforher。
Shetookit，andthengaveitbacktohim，thatshemighthavebothhandsforherskirt，andsodidhimtwofavors。
Asuperannuatedforesterofthenoblemanwhoownstheruinopenedagateforthepartyatthetop，andleviedataxofthirtykreutzerseachuponthem，foritsmaintenance。Thecastle，byhisstory，haddescendedfromrobbersiretorobberson，tillGustavusknockedittopiecesinthesixteenthcentury；threehundredyearslater，thepresentownerrestoredit；andnowitsbrokenwallsandarches，builtofrubblemixedwithbrick，andneatlypointedupwithcement，formaruinsatisfyinglypermanent。Thewallswerenotofgreatextent，butsuchastheyweretheyenclosedseveraldungeonsandachapel，allunderground，andacisternwhichonceenabledthebaronsandtheirretainerstowatertheirwineintimeofsiege。
Fromthatheighttheycouldoverlooktheneighboringhighwaysineverydirection，andcouldbringamerchanttrainto，withashaftfromacrossbow，orashotfromanarquebuse，atpleasure。WithGeneralTriscoe’sleave，Marchpraisedthestrategicstrengthoftheuniqueposition，whichhefoundexpressiveofthepast，andyetsuggestiveofthepresent。Itwasmoreadifferenceinmethodthananythingelsethatdistinguishedthelevyofcustomsbytheauthoritiesthenandnow。Whatwastheessentialdifference，betweentakingtributeoftravellerspassingonhorseback，andcollectingduesfromtravellersarrivingbysteamer？Theydidnotpayvoluntarilyineithercase；butitmightbeproofofprogressthattheynolongerfoughtthecustomsofficials。
“Thenyoubelieveinfreetrade。”saidStoller，severely。
“No。Iamjustinquiringwhichisthebestwayofenforcingthetarifflaws。”
“IsawintheParisChronicle，lastnight。”saidMissTriscoe，“thatpeoplearekeptonthedocksnowforhours，andladiescryatthewaytheirthingsaretumbledoverbytheinspectors。”
“It’sshocking。”saidMrs。March，magisterially。
“Itseemstobeareturntothescenesoffeudaltimes。”herhusbandresumed。“ButI’mgladthetravellersmakenoresistance。I’mopposedtoprivatewarasmuchasIamtofreetrade。”
“Itallcomesroundtothesamethingatlast。”saidGeneralTriscoe。
“Yourprecioushumanity——“
“Oh，Idon’tclaimitexclusively。”Marchprotested。
“Well，then，ourprecioushumanityislikeamanthathaslosthisroad。
Hethinksheisfindinghiswayout，butheismerelyroundingonhiscourse，andcomingbacktowherehestarted。”
Stollersaid，“Ithinkweoughttomakeitsoroughforthem，overhere，thattheywillcometoAmericaandsetup，iftheycan’tstandtheduties。”
“Oh，weoughttomakeitroughforthemanyway。”Marchconsented。
IfStollerfelthisirony，hedidnotknowwhattoanswer。HefollowedwithhiseyesthemanoeuvrebywhichBurnamyandMissTriscoeeliminatedthemselvesfromthediscussion，andstrayedofftoanothercorneroftheruin，wheretheysatdownontheturfintheshadowofthewall；athin，uplandbreezedrewacrossthem，butthesunwashot。Thelandfellawayfromtheheight，andthenroseagainoneverysideincarpetlikefieldsandinlongcurvingbands，whoseparallelcolorspassedunblendedintothedistance。“Idon’tsuppose。”Burnamysaid，“thatlifeeverdoesmuchbetterthanthis，doyou？Ifeellikeknockingonapieceofwoodandsaying’Unberufen。’Imightknockonyourbouquet；that’swood。”
“Itwouldspoiltheflowers。”shesaid，lookingdownattheminherbelt。
Shelookedupandtheireyesmet。
“Iwonder。”hesaid，presently，“whatmakesusalwayshaveafeelingofdreadwhenwearehappy？”
“Doyouhavethat，too？”sheasked。
“Yes。Perhapsit’sbecauseweknowthatchangemustcome，anditmustbefortheworse。”
“Thatmustbeit。Ineverthoughtofitbefore，though。”
“Ifwehadgotsofarinsciencethatwecouldpredictpsychologicalweather，andcouldknowtwenty-fourhoursaheadwhenawarmwaveofblissoracoldwaveofmiserywascoming，andprepareforsmilesandtearsbeforehand——itmaycometothat。”
“Ihopeitwon’t。I’drathernotknowwhenIwastobehappy；itwouldspoilthepleasure；andwouldn’tbeanycompensationwhenitwastheotherway。”
Ashadowfellacrossthem，andBurnamyglancedroundtoseeStollerlookingdownatthem，withaslantofthefacethatbroughthisaquilineprofileintorelief。“Oh！Haveaturf，Mr。Stoller？”hecalledgaylyuptohim。
“Iguesswe’veseenaboutallthereis。”heanswered。“Hadn’twebetterbegoing？”Heprobablydidnotmeantobemandatory。
“Allright。”saidBurnamy，andheturnedtospeaktoMissTriscoeagainwithoutfurthernoticeofhim。
Theyalldescendedtothechurchatthefootofthehillwheretheweirdsacristanwaswaitingtoshowthemthecold，bareinterior，andtoaccountforitsnewnesswiththefactthattheoldchurchhadbeenburnt，andthisonebuiltonlyafewyearsbefore。Thenhelockedthedoorsafterthem，andranforwardtoopenagainsttheircomingthechapelofthevillagecemetery，whichtheyweretovisitaftertheyhadfortifiedthemselvesforitatthevillagecafe。
Theywereservedbyalittlehunch-backmaid；andshetoldthemwholivedinthechiefhouseofthevillage。Itwasuncommonlypretty；whereallthehouseswerepicturesque，andshespokeofitwithrespectasthedwellingofarichmagistratewhowasclearlythegreatmanoftheplace。
Marchadmiredthecatwhichrubbedagainstherskirtwhileshestoodandtalked，andshetookhispraisesmodestlyforthecat；buttheywroughtupontheenvy，ofherbrothersothatheranofftothegarden，andcamebackwithtwofat，sleepy-eyedpuppieswhichheheldup，withanarmacrosseachoftheirstomachs，fortheacclaimofthespectators。