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284 them go out of the gates together, and he was disappointed Nelly did not look his way. Yet he knew that was a thing he had no right to expect, and one which he would not have expected from any other hand.

However, Sybil Johnson was a woman whom he knew well, for, in spite of her poverty, she was a somewhat important person in the chapel, since it was generally Sybil who nursed the sick of the congregation, and who performed the last offices for the dead. But when Ben remembered this fact it troubled him. Necessarily, Sybil had to be much from her own home, and then Nelly would be left alone. A sudden fear made him heart-sick. She was such a pretty, gentle little Iamb, and there were so many wolves about in the shape of handsome mill lads. He honestly felt as if it was his particular duty not only to warn Sybil of this danger, but also to take some chaise in the matter himself.

It was not long before he found an opportunity, and he called at Sybil's cottage. It was a Saturday evening, a lovely, warm August evening, with a full moon in the clear blue sky. Sybil was ironing by the fading daylight, and