Was anything wrong ?" "Old Patton is very ill," she said, sighing.

"I went to ask after him; he may die any moment.

And the Hurds' boy too." He leant against the mantelpiece, talking to her about both cases with a quick incisive common-sense--not unkind, but without a touch of unnecessary sentiment, still less of the superior person--which represented one of the moods she liked best in him.

In speaking of the poor he always took the tone of comradeship, of a plain equality, and the tone was, in fact, genuine.
"Do you know," he said presently, "I did not tell you before, but I am certain that Hurd's wife is afraid of you, that she has a secret from you ?" "From me! how could she?
I know every detail of their affairs." "No matter.

I listened to what she said that day in the cottage when I had the boy on my knee.