It was said that his father had been a rich linen-draper in some North of England town; and that he himself would have inherited this flourishing business and its accumulated wealth, if he had not insisted on joining the ministry.  But he threw up all to preach the Gospel.  Dale thought of the nature of the faith that would make a man go and do a thing like that.  It must be unquestioning, undoubting; a conviction that amounted to certainty.

He did not see Mavis approaching.  She called to him from a distance, and he sprang off the gate and hurried to meet her.  Instinctively, as he drew near, he looked into her face, searching for the expression that he had noticed just now in those other faces.  It was not there.  She was hot and red after her walk; her eyes were full of life and gaiety; she seemed a fine, broad-blown, well-dressed dame who might have been returning from market instead of from church, and her first words spoke of practical affairs.

“Holly Lodge is let again, Will, and Mr. Allen says the new gentleman keeps horses—­because he’s having the stables painted.  You ought to send a circular at once, and make a call without delay.”

Dale took his pipe out of his pocket, and spoke in an absent tone.

“I’ve been thinking what a rum world it is, Mav.”

“Yes, but a very nice world, Will;” and she slipped her arm in his, as they walked on together.  “No, not another pipe.  Don’t take the edge off your appetite with any more smoking.  There’s good roast beef and Yorkshire pudding waiting for you.  That is, if Mary hasn’t made a mess of everything.”

XVIII

On the evening of the next Sunday Dale was quietly going out of the house when Mavis offered to accompany him.

“Off for a stroll, Will?  If you can wait ten minutes, I’ll come with you.”

But he excused himself from waiting, and further confessed that he preferred to be alone.  He said he was in a thoughtful rather than a talkative mood to-night.

“You understand, old girl?”

“Yes, dear, I understand.  You want to put on your considering cap about something.”

“That’s just it, Mav.  The considering cap.  Ta-ta.”

Outside in the roadway Mr. Creech, a farmer, hindered him for a few minutes.  Between him and Mr. Creech there were certain business arrangements now under negotiation, and it was impossible to avoid speaking of them.  Dale, however, cut their chat as short as possible, and directly he had shaken off Mr. Creech he walked away briskly toward Rodchurch.