"'Tis folly, all the same--this heavy work that you delight in," declared Nathan. "I'm sure Humphrey's of my mind. You oughtn't to do such a lot of young man's work. 'Tis foolish and quite uncalled for." "The young men can't do it, maybe," said Humphrey. "Vivian be three men rolled into one--with the strength of three for all his threescore and ten years. But you're in the right. He's too old for these deeds. There's no call for weight-lifting and all this sweating labour, though he is such a mighty man of his hands still." Mr. Baskerville of Cadworthy laughed. "You be such brainy blids--the pair of you--that you haven't got no patience with me and my schoolboy fun. But, then, I never had no intellects like you--all ran into muscle and bone. And 'tis my pleasure to show the young generation what strength be. The Reverend Masterman preached from a very onusual text Sunday, 'There were giants in those days,' it was--or some such words, if my memory serves me. And Rupert and May, as were along with me, said as surely I belonged to the giant race!" He laughed with a loud, simple explosion of ingenuous merriment, and led the way to the parlour. There his wife, in black silk, welcomed her brothers-in-law and received their congratulations. Humphrey fumbled at a parcel which he produced from his breast. He untied the string, wound it up, and put it into his pocket. "'Tis a book as I heard well spoken of," he said. "There's only one Book for you and me, I believe, Vivian; but an old man as I know came by this, and he said 'twas light in his darkness; so I went and bought a copy for you by way of something to mark the day. Very like 'tis all rubbish, and if so you can throw it behind the fire." "Sermons, and good ones without a doubt," answered the farmer. "I'm very fond of sermons, and I'll lay on to 'em without delay and let you know what I think. Not that my opinion of such a thing do count; but I can tell to a hair if they'm within the meaning of Scripture, and that be all that matters. And thank you kindly, I'm sure." "Tom Gollop's got terrible down-daunted about Mr. Masterman," said Nathan. "He says that your parson is a Radical, and will bring down dreadful things on the parish." "Old fool," answered Humphrey. "'Tis just what we want, within the meaning of reason, to have a few of the cobwebs swept away." "But you're a Radical too, and all for sweeping away," argued his eldest brother doubtfully. "I'm for folly and nonsense being swept away, certainly. I'm for all this cant about humility and our duty to our superiors being swept away. I hate to see chaps pulling their hair to other men no better than themselves, and all that knock-kneed, servile rubbish." Nathan felt this to be a challenge. "We take off our hats to the blood in a man's veins, if 'tis blue enough--not to the man." "And hate the man all the time, maybe--and so act a lie when we cap to him and pretend what isn't true."