When his cogitations reached this point, he went to the cottage, and found her seated in the kitchen, quietly sewing at a black gown. She had had a little money in hand—enough to get for herself what was necessary. Cragg talked to Mrs. Waters, and then intimated that he would like a few words with Miss Dale. Good-natured Mrs. Waters took herself off to other regions, without delay. "My dear, I wonder if you can tell me anything about your father's means?" he began, having decided not to take anything for granted. "I have been wanting to ask this, and it is about time, you know, to settle something or other. After to-morrow—" Pattie looked gravely in his face. "I shall have twenty pounds a year," she said. "From—invested money? I promised to act as your guardian, and I want to understand." She seemed puzzled. "I don't exactly know. It was left to me by my father's brother—for life. Eighty pounds a year to father, for his life, and twenty pounds to me. It has always been paid regularly—by lawyers, I think. The eighty pounds goes somewhere else now, but I shall have the twenty still." "But you and he couldn't have lived on only one hundred pounds a year." "Couldn't we? A hundred pounds seems a good deal. And I meant to do needlework. I would have earned money in that way, and I mean to do it now. And dear father would have done copying—if he could have got any. Of course we have had more." Cragg waited expectantly. "I mean, we had more before we came here, when my father had a clerkship; he had two hundred a year for that. And we were very comfortable. We had everything we could want. Father was always talking of beginning to lay by, but he hadn't begun. And then he gave the work up." "Can you tell me why he gave it up?—on what account?" Pattie shook her head. "I never understood. He didn't exactly tell me why. Only that Mr. Peterson had turned against him, and had said unkind things —things that were not true. Poor father was miserable. I never saw him so unhappy. He said one day that Mr. Peterson believed him to have done something wrong—something he never could have done. And he said he and I must come away, and must forget our friends there. We meant to live quietly in the country; and I thought we should manage on what we had—if I could take in needlework. Neither of us ate a great deal." "And out of that he meant to pay twenty pounds a year house rent—not to speak of taxes." "Was that too much? But it does not matter now." Tears filled her eyes. "My dear, you must not think me unkind to say all this; it is— it is necessary. I have to understand your affairs. Did your father seem anxious about your future—or plan anything for you?" "Sometimes. Not much." "Not even since his accident?" "I would not let him. There was no need. I told him I should be taken care of. There was no need for him to worry himself." "And he was content to leave things so?" Pattie put her work down, and once more looked up into Cragg's face.