intheverycottagewhereshewasborn，ifwecouldgetit。Dear!andhowdifferentitis!Hereisshestillinabackstreeto’Manchester，neverlikelytoseeherownhomeagain；andI，asailor，offforAmericanextweek。IwishshehadbeenabletogotoBurtononceaforeshedied。““Shewouldmaybehavefoundallsadlychanged，“saidMary，thoughherheartechoedWill’sfeeling。“Aye!aye!Idaresayit’sbest。OnethingIdowishthough，andIhaveoftenwisheditwhenoutaloneonthedeepsea，wheneventhemostthoughtlesscan’tchoosebutthinkonth’pastandth’future；andthatis，thatI’dnevergrievedher。OhMary!manyahastywordcomessorelybackontheheart，whenonethinksoneshallneverseethepersonwhomonehasgrievedagain!“Theybothstoodthinking。SuddenlyMarystarted。“That’sfather’sstep。Andhisshirtisnotready!“Shehurriedtoherirons，andtriedtomakeupforlosttime。JohnBartoncamein。Suchahaggardandwildlyanxious-lookingman，Willthoughthehadneverseen。HelookedatWill，butspokenowordofgreetingorwelcome。“I’mcometobidyougood-bye，“saidthesailor，andwouldinhissociablefriendlyhumourhavegoneonspeaking。ButJohnansweredabruptly，“Good-byetoye，then。“Therewasthatinhismannerwhichleftnodoubtofhisdesiretogetridofthevisitor，andWillaccordinglyshookhandswithMary，andlookedatJohn，asifdoubtinghowfartooffertoshakehandswithhim。Buthemetwithnoansweringglanceorgesture，sohewenthisway，stoppingforaninstantatthedoortosay，“You’llthinkonmeonTuesday，Mary。That’sthedayweshallhoistourBluePeter，JackHarrissays。“Marywasheartilysorrywhenthedoorclosed；itseemedlikeshuttingoutafriendlysunbeam。Andherfather!whatcouldbethematterwithhim？
Hewassorestless；notspeakingshewishedhewould，butstartingupandthensittingdown，andmeddlingwithherirons；heseemedsofierce，too，tojudgefromhisface。ShewonderedifhedislikedWillbeingthere；
orifhewerevexedtofindthatshehadnotgotfurtheronwithherwork。
Atlastshecouldbearhisnervouswaynolonger，itmadeherequallynervousandfidgety。Shewouldspeak。“Whenareyougoing，father？Idon’tknowthetimeo’thetrains。““Andwhyshouldstthouknow？“repliedhe，gruffly。“Meddlewiththyironing，butdonnotbeaskingquestionsaboutwhatdoesn’tconcernthee。““Iwantedtogetyousomethingtoeatfirst，“answeredshe，gently。“ThoudostnotknowthatI’mlamingtodowithoutfood，“saidhe。Marylookedathimtoseeifhespokejestingly。No!helookedsavagelygrave。Shefinishedherbitofironing，andbeganpreparingthefoodshewassureherfatherneeded；forbythistimeherexperienceinthedegreesofhungerhadtaughtherthathispresentirritabilitywasincreased，ifnotcaused，bywantoffood。HehadhadasovereigngivenhimtopayhisexpensesasdelegatetoGlasgow，andoutofthishehadgivenMaryafewshillingsinthemorning；soshebadbeenabletobuyasufficientmeal，andnowhercarewastocookitsoasmosttotempthim。“Ifthou’rtdoingthatforme，Mary，thoumay’stsparethylabour。ItelledtheeIwerenotforeating。““Justalittlebit，father，beforestarting，“coaxedMary，perseveringly。AtthatinstantwhoshouldcomeinbutJobLegh。Itwasnotoftenhecame，butwhenhedidpayvisits，Maryknewfrompastexperiencetheywereanythingbutshort。Herfather’scountenancefellbackintothedeepgloomfromwhichitwasbutjustemergingatthesoundofMary’ssweetvoice，andprettypleading。Hebecameagainrestlessandfidgety，scarcelygivingJobLeghthegreetingnecessaryforahostinhisownhouse。Job，however，didnotstanduponceremony。Hehadcometopayavisit，andwasnottobedauntedfromhispurpose。HewasinterestedinJohnBarton’smissiontoGlasgow，andwantedtohearallaboutit；sohesatdown，andmadehimselfcomfortable，inamannerthatMarysawwasmeanttobestationary。“Sothou’rtofftoGlasgow，artthou？“hebeganhiscatechism。“Aye。““Whenartstarting？““To-night。““ThatIknowed。Butbywhattrain？“ThatwasjustwhatMarywantedtoknow；butwhatapparentlyherfatherwasinnomoodtotell。Hegotupwithoutspeaking，andwentup-stairs。
Maryknewfromhisstep，andhisway，howmuchhewasputout，andfearedJobwouldseeit，too。Butno!Jobseemedimperturbable。Somuchthebetter，andperhapsshecouldcoverherfather’srudenessbyherowncivilitytosokindafriend。So，halflisteningtoherfather’smovementsup-stairspassionate，violent，restlessmotionstheywere，andhalfattendingtoJobLegh，shetriedtopayhimalldueregard。“Whendoesthyfatherstart，Mary？“Thatplaguingquestionagain。“Oh!verysoon。I’mjustgettinghimabitofsupper。IsMargaretverywell？““Yes，she’swellenough。She’smeaningtogoandkeepAliceWilsoncompanyforanhourorsothisevening；assoonasshethinkshernephewwillhavestartedforLiverpool；forshefanciestheoldwomanwillfeelabitlonesome。