CHAPTER XV.
It was late in the afternoon when Mr.Juxon walked down towards the cottage, accompanied by the vicar.

In spite of their mutual anxiety to be of service to Mrs.Goddard, when they had once decided how to act they had easily fallen into conversation about other matters, the black letter Paracelsus had received its full share of attention and many another rare volume had been brought out and examined.

Neither the vicar nor his host believed that there was any hurry; if Goddard ever succeeded in getting to Billingsfield it would not be to-day, nor to-morrow either.
The weather had suddenly changed; the east was already clear and over the west, where the sun was setting in a fiery mist, the huge clouds were banked up against the bright sky, fringed with red and purple, but no longer threatening rain or snow.

The air was sharp and the plentiful mud in the roads was already crusted with a brittle casing of ice.
The squire took leave of Mr.Ambrose at the turning where the road led into the village and then walked back to the cottage.

Even his solid nerves were a little unsettled at the prospect of the interview before him; but he kept a stout heart and asked for Mrs.Goddard in his usual quiet voice.