MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 113 



the frequently occurring fact that opposition claims of calves 

 and pigs detracted from the butter output, but Lavvy felt a 

 sense of relief in observing that^ however shrewd her uncle 

 might have been, he had been rather behind the times in his 

 dairy appliances. So it happened that on her way back to 

 the house she seated herself beneath a wych-elm and, pro- 

 ducing her note-book, jotted down the items of intelligence 

 she had gleaned for her aunt's benefit. With the butt of 

 her pencil pressed against her lips, and her eyes fixed un- 

 seeingly upon Johnnie spread luxuriously in the sunshine, 

 she made mental calculations, and so engrossed did she be- 

 come that the sound of a horse's footfall on the grass and 

 the creaking of a saddle did not attract her attention until, 

 with a sudden action, '* the Reformer " sat erect. 



When your back is to a tree, and that tree intervenes be- 

 tween you and an approaching horseman, and you happen 

 to know who the newcomer is, there is much opportunity 

 for effecting composure even if startled out of an abstruse 

 mathematical problem. 



Lavvy was as cool and collected as ever she had been in 

 her life when Jack Morgan pulled up his cob with seeming 

 surprise at the unexpected meeting, which, considering he 

 had spotted the white form of his namesake at least a minute 

 before, did him credit. 



*' Good morning, Miss Badsworth," he exclaimed, jumping 

 to the ground. " Your aunt told me you had arrived and had 

 gone to work already. Don't get up, it will be easier for 

 both of us if I sit down." 



So he did, and Lavvy returned his greeting with as much 

 calmness as the young man himself displayed. 



" And what do you think of it ? It's a change from Corn- 

 wall, isn't it ? " Jack asked. 



" Well, yes," was the reply. " I am not surprised you 



thought our country strange, Mr. Morgan, but I wish the 



change of air and change of scene were the only changes." 



" That I can understand ; it's an extraordinary muddle. 



Miss Badsworth, however, seems to grasp the situation now." 



8 



