’Never mind the length of the night, if only you can hear His voice in the darkness.  You wanted to send me away, Phoebe; well, and to-morrow I shall not come; I shall stay at home and rest myself.  You can send me away, and little harm will happen; but take care you do not send Him away.’  And I left the room.

When I told Miss Locke that I was not coming the next evening she looked frightened.  ‘Has my poor Phoebe offended you so badly, then?’ she asked tremulously.

‘I am not offended at all,’ I replied; ’but Phoebe has need to learn all sorts of painful lessons.  I shall have all the warmer welcome on Wednesday, after leaving her to herself a little.’  But Miss Locke only shook her head at this.

The next day was so lovely that I promised myself the indulgence of a long country walk; there was a pretty village about two miles from Heathfield that I longed to see again.  But my little plan was frustrated, for just as I was starting I heard Tinker bark furiously; a moment afterwards there was a rush and scuffle, followed by a shriek in a girlish treble; in another moment I had seized my umbrella and flown to the door.  There was a fight going on between Tinker and a large black retriever, and a little lady in brown was wandering round them, helplessly wringing her hands, and crying, ‘Oh, Nap! poor Nap!’

I took her for a child the first moment, she was so very small.  ’Do not be frightened, my dear,’ I said soothingly, ’I will make Tinker behave himself.’  And a well-aimed blow from my umbrella made him draw off growling.  In another moment I had him by the collar, and by dint of threats and coaxing contrived to shut him up in the kitchen.  He was not a quarrelsome dog generally, but, as I heard afterwards, Nap was an old antagonist; they had once fallen out about Peter, and had never been friends since.

I found the little brown girl sitting in the porch with her arms round the retriever’s neck; she was kissing his black face, and begging him to forget the insult he had received from that horrid Barton dog.

‘Poor old Tinker is not horrid at all, I assure you,’ I said, laughing; ‘he is a dear fellow, and I am already very fond of him.’

‘But he nearly killed Nap,’ she returned, with a little frown; ’he is worse than a savage, for he has no notion of hospitality.  Nap and I came to call,’ rising with an air of great dignity.  ’I suppose you are Miss Garston.  I am Lady Betty.’

I had never heard of such a person in Heathfield; but of course Uncle Max would enlighten me.  As I looked at her more closely I saw my mistake in thinking she was a child; little brown thing as she was, she was fully grown up, and, though not in the least pretty, had a bright piquant face, a nest retrousse, and a pair of mischievous eyes.

She was dressed rather extravagantly in a brown velvet walking-dress, with an absurd little hat, that would have fitted a child, on the top of her dark wavy hair; she only wanted a touch of red about her to look like a magnified robin-redbreast.