"No business of mine," he thought, as he quietly returned to bed; "I've enough to do to-morrow, and want rest. Chickens, eh? Poor old fellow! for chickens read little ewe lamb. Who'd have thought it of the pretty, ladylike girl? And I might have married, and eighteen or twenty years hence have had a daughter like these two in the narrow circle of my acquaintance--a child whom I had tenderly nursed in infancy, trained as she grew up, believed in, trusted, and fancied that I shared her inmost thoughts. Then the revelation would probably have come. No; I don't think I shall marry now; and--well, how strange! I feel as if I can sleep--that engine ought to be fixed in a week, and we'll begin at once. I'll have the smelting-house where I settled, and the furnaces here shall be utilised for supplying additional steam. I must send a telegram off to-morrow to hurry on that tubing. Bah! I'll let all that go to-night, and--" "Would you like a little hot water, sir?" Clive Reed started up. "Eh? No, thanks. I don't shave. Can I have a canful of cold, fresh from the river?" "I have brought one up, sir. Breakfast in half an hour." Clive Reed was dressed and out in half that space of time, to find the Major busily tying up some beautiful carnations, one of which he cut and presented, dew wet, to his guest. "The most aromatic of our plants, Mr Reed," he said. "I'm sorry I disturbed you in the night, but it was no false alarm. Look! I would not rake them out till you had seen them." He pointed to the couple of heavy footprints in the soft soil, and to one of his carnations crushed by a boot heel. "Nothing missing," continued the Major. "Our friend was startled; but don't say anything about the footprints at breakfast." "Certainly not. But are you much troubled in this way?" "Well, no," replied the Major, smiling grimly. "The fact is, never. I'm afraid the news of the reopening of the mine has brought some roughs down into the neighbourhood. When you get your men all at work, they'll be too tired of a night to go wandering about." "I am very sorry," said Reed. "Oh, don't say a word about it, my dear sir. I am not blaming you. I cannot expect to have Derbyshire reserved to me. There! those are smoothed out, and a man who finds that there are firearms upon premises, with people who mean to use them, will think twice before he comes again." "Yes, of course," said Reed, looking thoughtfully at the fine old soldierly fellow as he ceased raking his bed. "How will Mademoiselle look this morning? Paler and more startled. A deceitful little minx!" "We've ten minutes yet," said the Major. "Care to walk up to the top of the garden? I can show you where my boundary runs, and yours touches it. Fair play, Mr Engineer. Keep your own side, and don't come burrowing under me. Hang your rooting and mining! I don't want to have my garden under-drained and my cottage come toppling about my ears."