Page:Possession (Roche, February 1923).pdf/56

 the sun. She'll never thrive in this dark hole. Where's the calf?"

"In the meadow wi' the ither calves. He's fine."

Majestically Gretta left the byre and lay down in the yard.

She never reëntered. When night came she refused so stubbornly to go in with the other cows, that it was held wise to humour her. Each day after that she seemed to decline in spirits and strength. The veterinary was sent for and prescribed, but it was of no avail. Her milk became unfit for use. It was plain that she was going to die. Nothing would induce her to enter the stable, and Derek began to hate the sight of the large black and white mound in the stable-yard. He was glad when he saw her, at last, heaved on to a stone-boat and hauled to the woods for burial.

Mrs. Machin became affable.

"The vet said it was ulcer of the stomach, didn't he?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Is Mr. Jerrold goin' to make you pay for her?"

"Just for the calf."

"Oh, well, you can easily get a good price for him, Mr. Vale."

"I'm not going to sell him," said Derek, testily. "It's my farm, and if I want an odd bull or so for a pet, I suppose I can have it."

Because he thought every one was against the young bull, it became his favorite creature on the farm.

Derek had written to his brother to send him his canoe which he had left in Halifax. It arrived one evening in June, and the Scotchmen, who had never seen one before,