Laura's cool grey eyes followed the youth with a constant critical wonder. In any other circumstances she would not have thought him worth an instant's attention. She had all the supercilious impatience of the pretty girl accustomed to choose her company. But this odd fact of kinship held and harassed her. She wanted to understand these Masons--her father's folk. "Now he is really talking quite nicely," she said to herself on one occasion, when Hubert had found in the gifts and accomplishments of his friend Castle, the organist, a subject that untied his tongue and made him almost agreeable. Suddenly a question caught his ear. "Daffady, did tha turn the coo?" said his mother in a loud voice. Even in the homeliest question it had the same penetrating, passionate quality that belonged to her gaze--to her whole personality indeed. Hubert dropped his phrase--and his knife and fork--and stared angrily at Daffady, the old cowman and carter. Daffady threw his master a furtive look, then munched through a mouthful of bread and cheese without replying. He was a grey and taciturn person, with a provocative look of patience. "What tha bin doin wi' th' coo?" said Hubert sharply. "I left her mysel nobbut half an hour sen." Daffady turned his head again in Hubert's direction for a moment, then deliberately addressed the mistress. "Aye, aye, missus"--he spoke in a high small voice--"A turned her reet enoof, an a gied her soom fresh straa for her yed. She doin varra middlin." "If she'd been turned yesterday in a proper fashion, she'd ha' bin on her feet by now," said Mrs. Mason, with a glance at her son. "Nowt o' t' soart, mother," cried Hubert. He leant forward, flushed with wrath, or beer--his potations had begun to fill Laura with dismay--and spoke with a hectoring violence. "I tell tha when t' farrier cam oop last night, he said she'd been managed first-rate! If yo and Daffady had yor way wi' yor fallals an yor nonsense, yo'd never leave a poor sick creetur alone for five minutes; I towd Daffady to let her be, an I'll let him knaa who's mëaster here!" He glared at the carter, quite regardless of Laura's presence. Polly coughed loudly, and tried to make a diversion by getting up to clear away the plates. The three combatants took no notice. Daffady slowly ran his tongue round his lips; then he said, again looking at the mistress: "If a hadna turned her I dew believe she'd ha' gien oos t' slip--she was terr'ble swollen as 'twos." "I tell tha to let her be!" thundered Hubert. "If she deas, that's ma consarn; I'll ha' noa meddlin wi' my orders--dost tha hear?" "Aye, it wor thirrty poond thraan awa lasst month, an it'll be thirrty poond this," said his mother slowly; "thoo art fine at shoutin. Bit thy fadther had need ha' addlet his brass--to gie thee summat to thraw oot o' winder."