No words of the burial office would be said over him; but what cared he? It would be the earth of Hall that went back to the earth of Hall when he perished and was buried there. His flesh had been nourished by the soil of Hall, his mind had lived on nothing else. He could not speak as his mouth was full. How sweet, how cool tasted that clod upon his tongue under his palate! Though he could not speak he formed words in his mind, and he said to himself-- "Thrice will I say 'Earth to earth!' and then leap down." Once the words were said, and now he said them again, in his mind-- "Earth to earth." There was a large black spider on the oak-tree, running up and down the chopped section, and now, all at once, it dropped, but did not fall--it swung at the end of its silken fibre. Mr. Cleverdon watched it. As the spider dropped, so, in another minute, would he. Then the spider ran up its thread. The old man shook his head. When he fell he would remain there motionless. What then would the spider do? Would it swing and catch at him, and proceed to construct a cobweb between him and the side of the pit? He saw himself thus utilised as a sidestay for a great cobweb, and saw a brown butterfly, with silver underwings, now playing about the pit-mouth, come to the cobweb and be caught in it. He shook his head--he must not yield to these illusions. "Earth to----" A hand was laid on his shoulder, an arm put about his waist; he was drawn to the side of the pit, and the rope hastily disengaged from his throat. With blank, startled eyes old Squire Cleverdon looked on the face of his preserver. It was that of Luke, his nephew. "Uncle!--dear uncle!" Luke took the halter, unloosed it from where it had been fastened to the beam, knotted it up, and flung it far away among the bushes. The old man said nothing, but stood before his nephew with downcast eyes, slightly trembling. Luke was silent also for some while, allowing the old man to recover himself. Then he took his arm in his own and led him back to the horse. "Let me alone! Let me go!" said old Cleverdon. "Uncle, we will go together. I was on my way to you. I had heard in what trouble you were, and I thought it possible I might be of some assistance to you." "You!" the Squire shook his head. "I want over a thousand pounds at once." "That I have not got. Can I not help you in any other way?" "There is no other way." "What has happened," said Luke, "is by the will of God, and you must accept it, and look to Him to bless your loss to you." "Ah, you are a parson!" said the old man. Luke did not urge him to remount his horse. He kept his arm, and helped him along, as though he were conducting a sick man on his walk, till he had conveyed him some distance from the saw-pit. As the Squire's step became firmer, he said,