CHAPTER XIII

FEAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES-LOVE

AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

SUNDAY AND THE SERMON.

GILBERT was glad to see the dinner, he was so very hungry. As soon as the first cravings of his appetite were appeased, he inquired of Mrs. Duncan why the engines had not put out the fire as they do in London.

"There are no fire-engines within eight miles," she replied; "and if they could have arrived in time, there would have been a difficulty about a supply of water. That is one of the advantages of a town, which we in the country do not possess."

"Then if this house were to take fire, it could not be put out?"

"It would be difficult to extinguish a fire here;

but upon the first alarm I should send a man on horseback to Fairburn for the engines, and we have some water on the premises; a good deal of damage might, however, be done before they could arrive. It is very necessary for us country people to be careful about fire.

Dinner was just over when the servant told Mrs. Duncan that Nancy was awake. She went out of the room, and Gilbert heard her speaking very gently and kindly to the child, and telling her to go into the kitchen and dine, and then come and speak to her in the drawing-room. When she came she looked timidly round the room, as if she suspected and feared something. Mrs. Duncan told

her she might go into the garden if she liked; but she did not move. Gilbert asked her to come and look at the bridge he was building; but still she did not move. Mrs. Duncan was called out of the room, and then Nancy went up to a table on which stood some china and glass ornaments, and began to handle them. Gilbert told her she might look at

them, but had better not touch them, as they would easily break, and he knew Mrs. Duncan valued them exceedingly, But she paid no attention to his advice; yet when she heard Mrs. Duncan's step, she shrunk away from the table. Little Samuel West came with a message to Mrs. Duncan, to ask if she could lend a mattress for Mrs. Hastings to lie on at a neighbour's, who could find a room, but had no bedding. ready to supply.

This Mrs. Duncan was quite

Gilbert observed that Samuel's countenance had no expression of fear like Nancy's, and that, although he was a little shy and awkward, as if unaccustomed to the kind of room and the furniture around him, yet he did not look as if he had any thing to conceal. As soon as he saw Nancy he said to her,

"Did you set the house on fire with the lucifers, Nancy?"

She looked down, put her fingers in her mouth, and made no reply.

"Are you afraid to tell?" he asked again.

Still Nancy did not speak, but she looked askance at Mrs. Duncan.

"Mrs. Duncan won't beat you, I am quite sure," said Gilbert, earnestly.

Mrs. Duncan did not enter into the conversation; she waited to see whether Gilbert and Samuel could produce any effect upon the little girl.

"Were you all alone?" asked Samuel.
"Yes," replied Nancy in a whisper.

"Where was Sally? I saw Sally nursing the baby when I went past," said Samuel.

The desire to accuse Sally induced Nancy to speak. "She put the baby into the cradle, and told me to mind the house while she went to look at the sheep-washing: and she said, if the fire went out, she'd make me repent it."

“And did the fire go out?" asked Samuel.

"Yes, it did; but that wasn't my fault; I was up stairs rocking the baby."

"Then I'm certain you took the lucifer-matches to the bed," said Samuel.

"That I'm sure I didn't; they were in the closet; I dropped one in the closet.”

"When it was all on fire?" asked Gilbert, his blue eyes staring as he spoke.

Nancy did not answer, but looked aside at Mrs. Duncan, who was at work, and did not notice her. "Why did you not stamp it out?" Samuel asked.

"I thought it would go out of itself," replied Nancy; "but the smoke poured from the closet; and I knew mother would beat me; and then-and then-" and at this recollection Nancy began to cry.

"Don't cry," said Samuel. "You won't do so any more, will you?"

"Pray don't let her be beaten, Mrs. Duncan," said Gilbert, greatly distressed.

"I will endeavour to prevent it," she replied. "Samuel, tell Mrs. Hastings that I shall keep Nancy till to-morrow; and you may go home now; and Nancy, do you go into the kitchen."