38 MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 



"And so shall I," Jack replied, "this fresh air and the 

 pursuit of science is very appetising." 



There was no apparent hurry, at least the two walked 

 slowly towards the house. 



At the above-mentioned door in the stonewall Miss Bads- 

 worth stopped. 



" I must thank you, Mr. Morgan, for what you said to 

 dad last night. I feel sure he has made up his mind," she 

 said with a pretty upturned look which set Jack's heart 

 skipping like a young unicorn, or whatever a suitably active 

 young animal may be. " I am quite content with my life 

 here with him, for I have never been used to anything else, 

 but I am sure he feels that the family estrangement is 

 absurd." 



"Don't mention it; I only stated the facts. Do you 

 think he will write ? " 



" I feel sure of it ; when dad makes up his mind he always 

 acts on his decision." 



" Don't you ? " was Jack's somewhat irrelevant question. 



" I don't know; I think I do." 



"And I am sure of it," Jack said with hearty confidence 

 as they walked on this time more briskly. A slight tinge of 

 colour mounted to Miss Badsworth's face. " He is a nice 

 man," she thought. 



Jack saw it out of the corner of his eye, but he looked 

 away over the landscape with a smile on his face, and some- 

 how the conversation ceased. 



" Is that where we had our jolly gallop yesterday ? " he 

 asked, pointing away to the red brown of distant moorland 

 on the horizon. 



Miss Badsworth coloured again, for her thoughts had 

 travelled away upon the same course. 



"You know it is not," she said with a laugh. " It was 

 in exactly the opposite direction." 



" Bless me ! Was it ? My bump of locality seems to 

 have gone wrong amongst these hills and moors. How- 

 ever, I know where Dewthorpe is, I'm thankful to say." 



