‘She’s like thee—­and yet she favours her feyther,’ said he; and the moment he had uttered the incautious words he looked up to see how Sylvia had taken the unpremeditated, unusual reference to her husband.  His stealthy glance did not meet her eye; but though he thought she had coloured a little, she did not seem offended as he had feared.  It was true that Bella had her father’s grave, thoughtful, dark eyes, instead of her mother’s gray ones, out of which the childlike expression of wonder would never entirely pass away.  And as Bella slowly and half distrustfully made her way towards the temptation offered her, she looked at Kester with just her father’s look.

Sylvia said nothing in direct reply; Kester almost thought she could not have heard him.  But, by-and-by, she said,—­

’Yo’ll have heared how Kinraid—­who’s a captain now, and a grand officer—­has gone and got married.’

‘Nay!’ said Kester, in genuine surprise.  ‘He niver has, for sure!’

‘Ay, but he has,’ said Sylvia.  ’And I’m sure I dunnot see why he shouldn’t.’

‘Well, well!’ said Kester, not looking up at her, for he caught the inflections in the tones of her voice.  ‘He were a fine stirrin’ chap, yon; an’ he were allays for doin’ summut; an’ when he fund as he couldn’t ha’ one thing as he’d set his mind on, a reckon he thought he mun put up wi’ another.’

’It ‘ud be no “putting up,"’ said Sylvia.  ’She were staying at Bessy Dawson’s, and she come here to see me—­she’s as pretty a young lady as yo’d see on a summer’s day; and a real lady, too, wi’ a fortune.  She didn’t speak two words wi’out bringing in her husband’s name,—­“the captain”, as she called him.’

‘An’ she come to see thee?’ said Kester, cocking his eye at Sylvia with the old shrewd look.  ‘That were summut queer, weren’t it?’

Sylvia reddened a good deal.

‘He’s too fause to have spoken to her on me, in t’ old way,—­as he used for t’ speak to me.  I were nought to her but Philip’s wife.’

‘An’ what t’ dickins had she to do wi’ Philip?’ asked Kester, in intense surprise; and so absorbed in curiosity that he let the humbugs all fall out of the paper upon the floor, and the little Bella sat down, plump, in the midst of treasures as great as those fabled to exist on Tom Tiddler’s ground.

Sylvia was again silent; but Kester, knowing her well, was sure that she was struggling to speak, and bided his time without repeating his question.

‘She said—­and I think her tale were true, though I cannot get to t’ rights on it, think on it as I will—­as Philip saved her husband’s life somewheere nearabouts to Jerusalem.  She would have it that t’ captain—­for I think I’ll niver ca’ him Kinraid again—­was in a great battle, and were near upon being shot by t’ French, when Philip—­our Philip—­come up and went right into t’ fire o’ t’ guns, and saved her husband’s life.  And she spoke as if both she and t’ captain were more beholden to Philip than words could tell.  And she come to see me, to try and get news on him.