‘Sarah! is this good?’ As he spoke he removed the upper hand from the coin and placed the latter back in his pocket. Sarah was nettled.
‘Good or bad, it’s good enough for me! Take it or leave it as you like,’ she said, to which he replied quickly:
‘Nay lass! Aught that concerns you is good enow for me. I did but think of you lest you might have pain or disappointment hereafter. If you love Eric better nor me, in God’s name say so, and I think I’m man enow to stand aside. Likewise, if I’m the one, don’t make us both miserable for life!’ Face to face with a difficulty, Sarah’s weak nature proclaimed itself; she put her hands before her face and began to cry, saying—
‘It was my mother. She keeps telling me!’ The silence which followed was broken by Eric, who said hotly to Abel:
‘Let the l
