He looked up to where her portrait hung upon the wall, taken ten years ago, in the bloom of her youth. The eyes were turned towards him, and the lips were half parted in a smile. "Alice!" he said, as if the picture could have heard him. "Alice!" But the portrait smiled on, and gave no answer. "I'll have you forth, Alice," he murmured. "I'll see to it the first thing to-morrow. Well, not to-morrow, neither; market-day at Cranbrook. I meant to take the bay horse to sell there. Do no harm, trow, to let her tarry a two-three days or a week. I mean you no harm, Alice; only to bring you down a little, and make you submissive. You're a bit too much set on your own way, look you. I'll go to Master Horden and Master Colepeper, and win them to move Dick o' Dover to leave her go forth. It shall do her a power of good--just a few days. And I can ne'er put up with many suppers like this--I must have her forth. Should have thought o' that sooner, trow. Ay, Alice--I'll have you out!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note. Most of the Scriptural quotations are taken from Cranmer's Bible. CHAPTER SIX. PEPPERED BROTH. "Father! O Father! Must I forgive Uncle Edward? I don't see how I can." "I'm afraid you must, Christie, if you look to follow Christ." "But how can I? To use dear Aunt Alice so cruelly!" "How can God forgive thee and me, Christie, that have used His blessed Son far, far worser than Uncle Edward hath used Aunt Alice, or ever could use her?" "Father, have you forgiven him?" It was a hard question. Next after his little Christie herself, the dearest thing in the world to Roger Hall was his sister Alice. He hesitated an instant. "No, you haven't," said Christie, in a tone of satisfaction. "Then I'm sure I don't need if _you_ haven't." "Dost thou mean, then, to follow Roger Hall, instead of the Lord Jesus?" Christie parried that difficult query by another. "Father, _love_ you Uncle Edward?" "I am trying, Christie." "I should think you'd have to try about a hundred million years!" said Christie. "I feel as if I should be as glad as could be, if a big bear would just come and eat him up!--or a great lion, I would not mind which it was, if it wouldn't leave the least bit of him." "But if Christ died for Uncle Edward, my child?" "I don't see how He could. I wouldn't." "No, dear heart, I can well believe that. `Scarce will any man die for a righteous man... But God setteth out His love toward us, seeing that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' And He left us `an ensample,' my Christie, `that we should follow His steps.'" "I can't, Father; I can't!"