Heaccompaniedhertothecottage，andsheconductedhimup-
stairs。JohnSouthwaspillowedupinachairbetweenthebedandthewindowexactlyoppositethelatter，towardswhichhisfacewasturned。
“Ah，neighborWinterborne。”hesaid。“Iwouldn’thavemindedifmylifehadonlybeenmyowntolose；Idon’tvallieitinmuchofitself，andcanletitgoif’tisrequiredofme。Buttothinkwhat’tisworthtoyou，ayoungmanrisinginlife，thatdotroubleme！Itseemsatrickofdishonestytowardsyetogooffatfifty-five！Icouldbearup，IknowIcould，ifitwerenotforthetree——yes，thetree，’tisthat’skillingme。Therehestands，threateningmylifeeveryminutethatthewinddoblow。He’llcomedownuponusandsquatusdead；andwhatwillyedowhenthelifeonyourpropertyistakenaway？”
“Neveryoumindme——that’sofnoconsequence。”saidGiles。“Thinkofyourselfalone。”
Helookedoutofthewindowinthedirectionofthewoodman’sgaze。Thetreewasatallelm，familiartohimfromchildhood，whichstoodatadistanceoftwo-thirdsitsownheightfromthefrontofSouth’sdwelling。Wheneverthewindblew，asitdidnow，thetreerocked，naturallyenough；andthesightofitsmotionandsoundofitssighshadgraduallybredtheterrifyingillusioninthewoodman’smindthatitwoulddescendandkillhim。Thushewouldsitallday，inspiteofpersuasion，watchingitseverysway，andlisteningtothemelancholyGregorianmelodieswhichtheairwrungoutofit。Thisfearitapparentlywas，ratherthananyorganicdiseasewhichwaseatingawaythehealthofJohnSouth。