rising ground to the right he reached a ridge whereon a large and thick grew beyond this for some distance the wood was more open and the course which must pursue to reach the point if he came to night was visible a long way forward for some time there was no sign of him or of anybody then there shaped itself a spot out of the dim mid distance between the masses of on either hand and it enlarged and tim could hear the brushing of feet over the of sour grass the airy gait revealed even before his exact outline could be seen tim turned about and ran down the opposite side of the hill till he was again at the head of his own garden it was the work of a few moments to drag out the man trap very gently � that the plate might not be disturbed sufficiently to throw it � to a space between a pair of young oaks which rooted in grew apart upward forming a v shaped opening between and being backed up by bushes left this as the only course for a foot passenger in it he laid the trap with the same gentleness of handling locked the chain round one of the trees and finally slid back the guard which was placed to keep the gin from accidentally catching the arms of him who set it or to use the local and better word toiled it having completed these arrangements tim sprang through the adjoining hedge of his father s garden ran down the path and softly entered the the obedient to his order sake had gone to bed and aa soon aa he had bolted the door tim and licked off his boots at the foot of the stairs and retired likewise without lighting a candle his object seemed to be to as soon as possible before however he had completed the operation a long cry without � penetrating bat indescribable what s said sake starting ap in bed sounds as if somebody had caught a hare in his gin oh no said she it was not a hare louder do ee get to sleep said tim how be you going to wake at half past three she lay down and was tim stealthily opened the window and listened above the low produced by the of the various species of trees around the premises he could hear the of a chain from the spot whereon he had set the man trap but further human sound there was none tim was puzzled in the haste of his project he had not calculated upon a cry but if one why not more he soon ceased to essay an answer for was dead to him already in a dozen hours he would be out of its for life on his way to the he closed the window and lay down the hour which had brought these movements of tim to birth had been elsewhere awaiting in her father s house the minute of her appointment with her husband grace on many things should she inform her father before going out that the of herself and was not so complete as he had imagined and deemed desirable for her happiness if she did so she must in some measure become the of her husband and she was not prepared to go so far as for him he kept her in a mood of considerate gravity he certainly had changed he had at his worst times always been gentle in his manner towards her could it be that she might make of him a true and worthy husband yet she had married him there was no getting over that and th� ought she any longer to keep him at a distance his deference to her whim on the question of his and when as her lawful husband he might show a little independence was a trait in his character as unexpected as it was engaging if she had been his and he her he could not have exhibited a more sensitive care to avoid upon her against her will impelled by a remembrance she took down a prayer book j and turned to the marriage service reading it slowly through she became quite appalled at her recent off handed ness when she what awfully solemn she had made him at those steps not so very ago she became lost in long on how far a person s conscience might be bound by vows made without at the time a full recognition of their force that particular sentence beginning whom god hath joined together was a for a of strong sentiment be wondered whether god really did join them before she had done the time of her engagement drew near and she went out of the house almost at the moment that tim retired to his own the position of things at that critical juncture was briefly as follows two hundred yards to the right of the upper end of s garden was still advancing having now nearly reached the summit of the wood clothed ridge the path being the actual one which further on passed between the two young oaks thus far it was according to tim s conjecture but about two hundred yards to the left or rather less was arising a condition which he had not divined the of grace as from the upper corner of her father s garden with the view of meeting tim s intended victim between husband and wife was the trap silent open ready s walk that night had been cheerful for he was convinced that the slow and gentle method he had adopted was promising success the very restraint that he was obliged to exercise upon himself so as not to kill the delicate bud of returning confidence fed his flame he walked the so more rapidly than grace that if they continued ad � 