could do nothing but shut his mouth and obey, like an animal
fairly stroked into good humour. And as Fleda always forgot to
remind him that she had been right and he wrong, he forgot it
too, and presently took to the new way kindly. In other
matters he could be depended on, and the seed-time and harvest
prospered well. There was hope of making a good payment to Dr.
Gregory in the course of a few months.

As the spring came forward, Fleda took care that her garden
should — both gardens, indeed. There she and Philetus had the
game in their own hands, and beautifully it was managed. Hugh
had full occupation at the mill. Many a dollar this summer was
earned by the loads of fine fruits and vegetables which
Philetus carried to Montepoole; and accident opened a new
source of revenue. When the courtyard was in the full blaze of
its beauty, one day an admiring passer-by modestly inquired if
a few of those exquisite flowers might be had for money. They
were given him most cheerfully that time; but the demand
returned, accompanied by the offer, and Fleda obliged herself
not to decline it. A trial it was, to cut her roses and
jessamines for anything but her own or her friends' pleasure,
but, according to custom, she bore it without hesitation. The
place became a resort for all the flower-lovers who happened
to be staying at the Pool; and rose-leaves were changed into
silver pennies as fast as in a fairy-tale.

But the delicate mainspring that kept all this machinery in
order suffered from too severe a strain. There was too much
running, too much considering, too much watchfulness. In the
garden, pulling peas, and seeing that Philetus weeded the