Pippany's jaw dropped, and his weak knees suddenly assumed a new degree of weakness. He was amazed by the directness of Rhoda's charge, and the first thought which flashed into his brain was that he had been watched.
"Now, then, none of your lies!" said Rhoda, quick to detect the signs of Pippany's guilt. "Out with it!"
Pippany recovered his wits. He would brazen matters out.
"Out wi' what?" he demanded. "I've nowt o' t' maister's—I niver set ees on t' maister fro' yisterda' mornin' till this mornin'."
"You set eyes on him when he was asleep behind that old wheatstack, and you took his money out of his pocket," asserted Rhoda. "You thought nobody was watching you, but other folks can look through hedges as well as you. Now then, out with it!"
"I wish I may be struck down dead if ever—" began Pippany.
Rhoda nodded to Perris. Perris sprang up and seized his man in a firm grip. Rhoda advanced on Pippany as he began to kick and scream.
"Hold him tight while I see what he's got in his pockets," she said. "We'll soon find out what he has about him."
"I'll hev' t' law on both on yer!" yelled Pippany, struggling in Perris's firm grasp. "Ye can't stand to 'sault a body i' this way! I'll summons both on yer afore afore t' magistrates I'll—"
Rhoda went through Pippany's pockets in thorough fashion, laying their contents on the table as she drew them out. She found some copper and silver in his breeches: in his waistcoat pocket she discovered the tobacco-box. A sudden inspiration prompted her to open it. From the tightly compressed tobacco she produced three sovereigns and a half-sovereign, and at the sight of them Perris shook Pippany until his teeth chattered in his jaws.
"There!" said Rhoda. "You'll go to prison for that, you thief! I knew you'd got it."
"It's—it's mine, I tell you!" screamed Pippany. "It's mi savin's, and ye can't stand to rob a body like that there! I'll—"
In the midst of Pippany's vociferation and moans the door opened. Taffendale, spick and span, walked in, and stood astonished at the sight which presented itself.
"Hullo!" he exclaimed. "I—I couldn't make anybody hear, so I came in. What's the matter?"
Rhoda, who had turned very pale at the sight of Taffendale, and had as suddenly flushed crimson, gave the visitor a swift look from beneath her eyelids.
"Pippany Webster's been robbing his master," she said in a low voice. "We've just found the money on him."
Perris gave Pippany another savage shake.
"Ho'd yer wisht!" he commanded. "Aye, he's been robbin' me, Mestur Taffendale. Theer's t' money—Rhoda there found it i' his bacca-box. What would you do wi' him, sir?—would you take him down to t' policeman?"
"For the present I should kick him out," said Taffendale, bestowing a careless look on Pippany. "He can't get far away."
Perris wasted no time in carrying this counsel into effect. He ran Pippany to the open door and kicked him into the fold with a force which landed his victim on all fours in the manure. That done, he came back, grinning all over his face.
"Ecod, that'll learn him a lesson!" he said, panting. "Aye, robbed me o' summat like four pound, did t' feller. Sit you down, Mestur Taffendale, sir: we'm proud to see you i' our house, an' I hope—"
"No, thank you," said Taffendale. "I promised your wife the other day that I'd give you a bit of advice about your farm, so if you like, we'll walk round it, and see how things are—I've an hour or so to spare this morning."
Perris picked up his old hat and clapped it on. "Why, I'm sure it's very good on your part, sir," he said. "We'm deeply obliged to you i' many ways. Well, we'll step out then, sir."
Rhoda stood in the window and watched the two men go down the fold together and into the fields. When they were out of sight, she sat down in Perris's chair, and for a long time stared listlessly into the fire. But she was busy enough when Perris came back at noon, rubbing his hands and chuckling.
"He's a reight un to help a body, is yon Mestur Taffendale," he exclaimed. "He's goin' to help us reight: we'm goin' to hey all sorts o' benefits fro' him."
Rhoda made no comment. She was not thinking so much of the benefits which Perris spoke of as of the fact that she and Taffendale had fallen in love with each other.
Chapter IX
Pippany Webster, summarily discharged by Perris on Taffendale's advice, went away from the Cherry-trees vowing vengeance on Rhoda. He was keen-witted enough to know that it was Rhoda who had detected him in his wickedness; Perris, he felt sure, would never have suspected him from then till Doomsday. He made off to the ramshackle cottage in which he lived at the far end of the village, and there found Tibby Graddige, who, for the consideration of eightteenpence a week, entered upon his domain now and then to set things to rights.
"And what ha' ye come home for at this time o' day?" inquired Tibby Graddige, staring at Pippany in astonishment. "Ha' yer gotten t' belly-ache, or what?"
"I gotten neyther t' belly-ache, nor t' head-ache, nor onny other aches," answered Pippany. "I've comed home. I can dew as I like i' my own house. I'm t' maister here, onnyway."
By way of proving his lordship Pippany went to a locked cupboard, and produced from it a bottle of rum. He looked round at his neighbour.
"Will yer sup?" he asked. "Ye're welcome, if yer will."
Tibby Graddige affected well-bred reluctance.
"Well, just t' leastest drop i' t' world," she answered.
"Ye needn't be feared," said Pippany handsomely. "I hey another bottle putten away i' t' cupboard."
He poured Mrs. Graddige a liberal allowance of rum into a cracked tea-cup, and gave himself a stronger dose in a mug; Mrs. Graddige produced hot water from the kettle. They pledged each other kindly, and Pippany sat down in his easy-chair and lighted his pipe.
"Aye, I done wi' yon lot," he said. "No more trapesin' up yon hill for me. Mestur Perris, he thinks as how he can dew wi'out me, and he can try—I can dew wi'out him. He'll never find another man to rive his guts out for twelve shillin' a week as I've done."
"No, I'm sure!" assented Tibby Graddige. "I allus said 'at ye weren't properly paid. Of course, you did hev' your meat."
"It wor allus bacon," said Pippany. "If it worn't fried it were boiled, and if it worn't hot it were cowd, and it were bacon whether it wor cowd or yit hot. It wor varry rarely I iver set tooth into fresh butcher meat i' yon house—I niver had such poor atin' i' my life."
"They're poor," remarked Tibby Graddige, sipping her rum-and-water, and shaking her head reflectively. "They're poor, I hey eyes i' my head, and I've noticed a thing or two. They've gone fro' bad to worse, hey Mestur and Mistress Perris."
"Aye, an' they'll go to still worse," said Pippany. "They've stalled this here last rent-day off, seemi'ly, though it wor held i' t' village 'at they'd niver be able to raise t' brass. But I'll lay owt 'at he'll noän last long, weern't Perris. Theer's nowt on t' place. I wodn't gi' fifty pound for all 'at t' man hes!"
"An' what made yer fratch, like, i' 't' end?" inquired Tibby Graddige. "Wor it summat sudden?"
Pippany mixed himself another mugful of rum-andwater, and wagged his head over the first mouthful of it.
"It wor what ye might call a disagreement," he said. "It wor t' woman's fault. It appears 'at when Mestur Perris went to pay t' rent yisterda' he gat overcome wi' drinkin' sherry wine, and he ligged hissen down to sleep behind t' wheatstack t' Foweracre, and he lost his brass, and this mornin' t' woman accused me o' steylin' it."
"Nay!" exclaimed Tibby Graddige. "Ye don't say And your poor mother were well known to be t' honestest