the act of making a the being driven firmly into the ground in a row over which he bent and the twigs beside him was a square compact pile like the altar of formed of already finished which on all sides with the sharp points of their at a little distance the men in his employ were assisting him to carry out his contract rows of wood lay on the ground as it had fallen under the axe and a shelter had been constructed near at hand in front of which burned the fire whose smoke had attracted him the air was so that the smoke hung heavy and crept away amid the bushes without rising from the ground after wistfully regarding a while drew nearer and briefly inquired of how he came to be so busily engaged with an of slight surprise that could seem so after being deprived of grace was not without emotion at the meeting the for grace s affairs had divided and ended their intimacy of old times explained just as briefly without raising his eyes from his of a that he held in front of him i p iii be ap in april before yon get it all cleared said yes there or said a chop of the the last word into two pieces there s ther interval still looked on a from s hook occasionally flying against the waistcoat and legs of his visitor who took no heed ah � you should have been my partner you should have been my son in law the old man said at last it would have been far better for her and for me saw that something had gone wrong with his former friend and throwing down the he was about to he responded only too readily to the mood of the timber dealer is she ill he said hurriedly no no stood without speaking for some minutes and then as though he could not bring himself to proceed to go away told one of his men to pack up the tools for the night and walked after heaven forbid that i should seem too inquisitive sir he said especially since we don t stand as we used to stand to one another but i hope it is well with them all over your way no said � no he stopped and the smooth trunk of a young ash tree with the flat of his hand i would that his ear had been where that is i he exclaimed i should have treated him to little compared wi what he deserves now said don t be in a hurry to go home i ve put some down to warm in my shelter here and we ll sit and drink it and talk this over as took his arm and they went back to where the fire was and sat down under the screen the other having gone he drew out the from the ashes and they drank together the to have bad her as i said now tu tell yoa why for the first time he th told as with great relief the story of how he won away s father s chosen one � by nothing worse than a s it is bat by means which except in love certainly haye been and unfair he explained how he had always intended to make to the father by giving grace to the son till the devil tempted him in the person of and he broke his tow how highly i thought of tliat man to be who d have supposed he d have been so weak and wrong headed as this tou ought to have had her and there s an end on t knew how to preserve his calm under this unconsciously cruel tearing of a healing wound to which s on the more vital subject had blinded him the young man endeavored to make the best of the case for grace s sake she hardly have been happy with me he said in the dry voice under which he hid his feelings i was not well educated too rough in short i couldn t have surrounded her with the she looked for anyhow at all nonsense � you are quite wrong there said the unwise old man she told me only this day that she hates and such like all that my trouble and money bought for her in that way is thrown away upon her quite she d fain be like that that s the top of her ambition perhaps she s right she loved you � the and what s more she loves ye still � worse luck for the poor maid if only had what fires he was stirring up he might have held his peace was silent a long time the darkness had closed in round them and the monotonous of the fog from the branches quickened as it turned to fine rain oh she never cared much for me managed to say aa he stirred the embers with a brand the she did and does i tell ye said the other however all that s vain talking now what i come to ask you about is a more practical matter � how to make the best of things as they are i am thinking of a desperate step � of calling on the woman i am going to appeal to her since grace will not tis she who holds the balance in her hands � not he while she s got the will to lead him astray he will follow � poor � and how long she ll do it depends upon her whim did ye ever hear about her character before she came to f she s been a bit of a in her time i believe replied with the same level as he regarded the red coals one who has smiled where she has not loved and 