at them and made no salutation.

"They may scowl beneath their great hats," said Denise; "I am not afraid
of them." And she walked on with her chin well up.

Below them, on the left, the terraces of vine and olive were weed-grown
and neglected; for Denise had found no one to work on her land, and the
soil here is damp and warm, favouring a rapid growth.

Colonel Gilbert had been unable to help them in this matter. His
official position necessarily prevented his taking an active part in any
local differences. There were Luccans, he said, to be hired at Bastia,
hard-working men and skilled vine-dressers, but they would not come to a
commune where such active hostility existed, and to induce them to do so
would inevitably lead to bloodshed.

The Abbe Susini had called, and told a similar tale in more guarded
language. Finding the ladies good Catholics, he pleaded for and abused
his poor in one breath, and then returned half the money that Denise gave
him.

"As likely as not you will be given credit for the whole in heaven,
mademoiselle, but I will only take part of it," he said.

"A masterful man," commented Mademoiselle Brun, when he was gone.

But the abbe had suggested no solution to Denise's difficulties. The
estate seemed to be drifting naturally into the hands of the only man who
wanted it, and, after all, had offered a good price for it.