“What are you going to do?” said Elizabeth, coming a step nearer.

“I am going to see if I can put up these blinds?”

“Blinds!” said Elizabeth.

“Yes. —­ I was fortunate enough to find some that were not very far from the breadth of the windows.  They were too long; and I made the man shorten them.  I think they will do.”

“What did you take all that trouble for?”

“It was no trouble.”

“Where did all these things come from?”

“From Starlings —­ I hadn’t to go any further than that for them.”

“How far is it?”

“Twelve miles.”

“Twelve miles there and back!”

“Makes twenty-four.”

“In this hot day! —­ I am very sorry, Mr. Landholm!”

“For what?” said he, shouldering one of the green blinds.

“You are not going to put those on yourself?”

“I am going to try —­ as I said.”

“You have done enough day’s work,” said Elizabeth.  “Pray don’t, at least to-night.  It’s quite late.  Please don’t! —­”

“If I don’t to-night, I can’t to-morrow,” said Winthrop, marching out.  “I must go home to-morrow.”

Home! It shook Elizabeth’s heart to hear him speak the old word.  But she only caught her breath a little, and then spoke, following him out to the front of the house.

“I would rather they were not put up, Mr. Landholm.  I can get somebody to do it.”

“Not unless I fail.”

“It troubles me very much that you should have such a day.”

“I have had just such a day —­ as I wanted,” said Winthrop, measuring with his eye and rule the blind and the window-frame respectively.

“Miss ’Lizabeth, Karen’s got the tea all ready, she says,” Clam announced from the door; “and she hopes everybody’s tired of waitin’.”

“You’ve not had tea! —­” exclaimed Elizabeth.  “Come then, Mr. Winthrop.”

“Not now,” said he, driving in his gimlet, —­ “I must finish this first.  ‘The night cometh wherein no man can work.’”

Elizabeth shrank inwardly, and struggled with herself.

“But the morning comes also,” she said.

Winthrop’s eye went up to the top hinge of the blind, and down to the lower one, and up to the top again; busy and cool, it seemed to consider nothing but the hinges.  Elizabeth struggled with herself again.  She was mortified.  But she could not let go the matter.

“Pray leave those things!” she said in another minute.  “Come in, and take what is more necessary.”

“When my work is done,” said he.  “Go in, Miss Elizabeth.  Karen will give me something by and by.”

Elizabeth turned; she could do nothing more in the way of persuasion.  As she set her foot heavily on the door-step, she saw Clam standing in the little passage, her lips slightly parted in a satisfied bit of a smile.  Elizabeth was vexed, proud, and vexed again, in as many successive quarter seconds.  Her foot was heavy no longer.