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 come of his soft, tricky ways. And then at last something made me suspect, and from that day my peace was gone for ever.

“It was only a little thing too. I had come into the parlour unexpected, and as I walked in at the door I saw a light of welcome on my wife’s face. But as she saw who it was it faded again, and she turned away with a look of disappointment. That was enough for me. There was no one but Alec Fairbairn whose step she could have mistaken for mine. If I could have seen him then I should have killed him, for I have always been like a madman when my temper gets loose. Mary saw the devil’s light in my eyes, and she ran forward with her hands in my sleeve. ‘Don't, Jim, don’t!’ says she. ‘Where’s Sarah?’ I asked. ‘In the kitchen,’ says she. ‘Sarah,’ says I, as I went in, ‘this man Fairbairn is never to darken my door again.’ ‘Why not?’ says she. ‘Because I order it.’ ‘Oh!’ says she, ‘if my friends are not good enough for this house, then I am not good enough for it either.’ ‘You can do what you like,’ says I, ‘but if Fairbairn shows his face here again, I’ll send you one of his ears for a keepsake.’ She was frightened by my face, I think, for she never answered a word, and the same evening she left my house.

“Well, I don’t know now whether it was pure devilry on the part of this woman, or whether she thought that she could turn me against my