Not willing to tire his audience, he preached a very short sermon; but it was his manifesto, and all the better for being short.  He took his text from Nehemiah, Chapter II., verses 19 and 20—­ “But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said:  ’What is this thing that ye do?  Will ye rebel against the King?’”

“Then answered I them and said unto them, ’The God of Heaven, He will prosper us; therefore, we His servants will arise and build.’

“Fellow-parishioners,” he said, “you see the state of this church.  Concerning the cause of it I require none of you to judge.  I enter no plea against any man.  Another will judge, who said, ’Destroy this temple and in three days I will rear it up.’  But He spake of the temple of His body; which was destroyed and is raised up; and its living and irrevocable triumph I, or some other servant of God, will celebrate at this altar, Sunday by Sunday, that whosoever will may see, yes, and taste it.  The state of this poor shell is but a little matter to a God whose majesty once inhabited a stable; yet the honour of this, too, shall be restored.  You wonder how, perhaps. It may be the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.  Go to your homes now and ponder this; and having pondered, if you will, pray for us.”

As the Raymonds left the church they found Squire Moyle waiting by the porch.  Honoria stood just behind him.  The rest of the congregation had drawn off a little distance to watch.  The Squire lifted his hat to Humility, and turned to Mr. Raymond with a sour frown.

“That means war?”

“It means that I stay,” said the Vicar.  “The war, if it comes, comes from your side.”

“I don’t think the worse of ’ee for fighting.  You’re not going to law then?”

Mr. Raymond smiled.  “I don’t doubt you’ve put yourself within the reach of it.  But if it eases your mind to know, I am not going to law.”

The Squire grunted, raised his hat again and strode off, gripping Honoria by the hand.

She had not glanced towards Taffy.  Clearly she was not allowed to speak to him.

The meaning of the Vicar’s sermon became plain next morning, when he walked down to the village and called on Joel Hugh, the carpenter.

“I knows what thee’rt come after,” began Joel, “but ’tis no use, parson dear.  Th’ old fellow owns the roofs over us, and if I do a day’s work for ’ee, out I goes, neck and crop.”

Mr. Raymond had expected this.  “It’s not for work I’m come,” said he; “but to hire a few tools, if you’re minded to spare them.”

Joel scratched his head.  “Might manage that, now.  But, Lord bless ’ee! thee’ll never make no hand of it.”  He chose out saw, hammer, plane and auger, and packed them up in a carpenter’s frail, with a few other tools.  “Don’t ’ee talk about payment, now; naybors must be nayborly.  Only, you see, a man must look after his own.”