CHAPTER XVII. 



Of course it was business which brought Mr. John Morgan 

 over, two days later, to call at Cranston, though perhaps it 

 did not account for his disappointment when, on being 

 ushered into Miss Badsworth's presence, he found her 

 alone. 



Nevertheless, he did not fail to notice that that lady was 

 evidently more satisfied with her surroundings. That Miss 

 Lavvy had arrived he gathered from Miss Badsworth's use 

 of the plural "we" in describing certain arrangements. 

 Lavvy had seen a horseman riding leisurely up the drive 

 with the reins on his horse's neck, and had promptly re- 

 tired, as is frequently the female use when rather inclined to 

 cultivate a certain person's acquaintance. 



" Mr. Morgan must be an assistant, not a hindrance," 

 was the conclusion to which the young lad}^ had come, and 

 having laid down that point clearly and decisively troubled 

 herself no more about it, but went forth to try and ascertain 

 by personal inspection why more than double the number of 

 cows yielded less than double the amount of butter produced 

 at Dewthorpe. 



Miss Badsworth being the properly constituted authority 

 at Cranston, it was not for her niece to do more than gather 

 statistics and make a report. The woman in charge of the 

 dairy was talkative enough, and glad of the opportunity of a 

 gossip. With no other ground to go upon beyond a well- 

 fitting frock, Lavvy was relegated to the category of a town 

 lady, and greater freedom of speech was consequently in- 

 dulged in. 



A little dissimulation and a few innocent questions elicited 



112 



