Thomasin came out of the tree, shook from her hair and dress the loose
berries which had fallen thereon, and went down the hill with her aunt,
each woman bearing half the gathered boughs. It was now nearly four
o'clock, and the sunlight was leaving the vales. When the west grew red
the two relatives came again from the house and plunged into the heath
in a different direction from the first, towards a point in the distant
highway along which the expected man was to return.




3--How a Little Sound Produced a Great Dream


Eustacia stood just within the heath, straining her eyes in the
direction of Mrs. Yeobright's house and premises. No light, sound, or
movement was perceptible there. The evening was chilly; the spot was
dark and lonely. She inferred that the guest had not yet come; and after
lingering ten or fifteen minutes she turned again towards home.

She had not far retraced her steps when sounds in front of her betokened
the approach of persons in conversation along the same path. Soon their
heads became visible against the sky. They were walking slowly; and
though it was too dark for much discovery of character from aspect, the
gait of them showed that they were not workers on the heath. Eustacia
stepped a little out of the foot-track to let them pass. They were
two women and a man; and the voices of the women were those of Mrs.
Yeobright and Thomasin.