gruffly.

Bessie burst out laughing.

'Oh! yer old silly,' she said. 'As if they couldn't stand one top o'
t'other. Now, do just go, Isaac--there's a lovey! 'Ee's waitin for yer.
Whatever did make yer so contrairy? Of course I didn't mean nothin I
said--an I don't mind Timothy, nor nothin.'

Still he did not move.

'Then I s'pose yer want everybody in the village to know?' he said, with
sarcasm.

Bessie was taken aback.

'No--I--don't'--she said, undecidedly--'I don't know what yer mean.'

'You go back and tell John as I'll come when it's dark, an, if he's not
a stupid, he won't want me to come afore.'

Bessie understood and acquiesced. She ran back with her message to John.

At half-past eight, when it had grown almost dark, Isaac descended the
hill. John opened the door to his knock.

'Good-evenin, Isaac. Yer'll take it, will yer?'

'If you can't do nothin better with it,' said Isaac, unwillingly. 'But
in gineral I'm not partial on keeping other folks' money.'