thinkhe’snoddingoveritjustatthismomentHowever，that’snaturalinanoldman，andunwell。Nowyoucouldstandhereandseehimsign，couldn’tyou，sir，ashe’ssuchaninvalid？“
’“Verywell，“saidtheagent，lightingacigar。“Youhavereadybyyouthemerelynominalsumyou’llhavetopayfortheadmittance，ofcourse？“
’“Yes，“saidNetty。“I’llbringitout。“Shefetchedthecash，wrappedinpaper，andhandedittohim，andwhenhehadcounteditthestewardtookfromhisbreastpocketthepreciousparchmentsandgaveonetohertobesigned。
’“Uncle’shandisalittleparalyzed，“shesaid。“Andwhatwithhisbeinghalfasleep，too，reallyIdon’tknowwhatsortofasignaturehe’llbeabletomake。“
’“Doesn’tmatter，sothathesigns。“
’“MightIholdhishand？“
’“Ay，holdhishand，myyoungwoman——thatwillbenearenough。“
’Nettyre-enteredthehouse，andtheagentcontinuedsmokingoutsidethewindow。NowcametheticklishpartofNetty’sperformance。Thestewardsawherputtheinkhorn——“horn，“saysIinmyoldfashionedway——theinkstand，beforeheruncle，andtouchhiselbowastoarousehim，andspeaktohim，andspreadoutthedeed；whenshehadpointedtoshowhimwheretosignshedippedthepenandputitintohishand。Toholdhishandsheartfullysteppedbehindhim，sothattheagentcouldonlyseealittlebitofhishead，andthehandsheheld；
buthesawtheoldman’shandtracehisnameonthedocument。Assoonas’twasdoneshecameouttothestewardwiththeparchmentinherhand，andthestewardsignedaswitnessbythelightfromtheparlourwindow。ThenhegaveherthedeedsignedbytheSquire，andleft；andnextmorningNettytoldtheneighboursthatherunclewasdeadinhisbed。’
’Shemusthaveundressedhimandputhimthere。’
’Shemust。Oh，thatgirlhadanerve，Icantellye!Well，tocutalongstoryshort，that’showshegotbackthehouseandfieldthatwere，strictlyspeaking，gonefromher；andbygettingthem，gotherahusband。
’Everyvirtuehasitsreward，theysay。NettyhadhersforheringeniouscontrivancetogainJasper。Twoyearsaftertheyweremarriedhetooktobeatingher——nothard，youknow；justasmackortwo，enoughtosetherinatemper，andletouttotheneighbourswhatshehaddonetowinhim，andhowsherepentedofherpains。
WhentheoldSquirewasdead，andhissoncameintotheproperty，thisconfessionofhersbegantobewhisperedabout。ButNettywasaprettyyoungwoman，andtheSquire’ssonwasaprettyyoungmanatthattime，andwider-mindedthanhisfather，havingnoobjectiontolittleholdings；andhenevertookanyproceedingsagainsther。’
Therewasnowalullinthediscourse，andsoonthevandescendedthehillleadingintothelongstragglingvillage。Whenthehouseswerereachedthepassengersdroppedoffonebyone，eachathisorherowndoor。Arrivedattheinn，thereturnedemigrantsecuredabed，andhavingeatenalightmeal，salliedforthuponthescenehehadknownsowellinhisearlydays。Thoughfloodedwiththelightoftherisingmoon，noneoftheobjectsworetheattractivenessinthistheirrealpresentationthathadeveraccompaniedtheirimagesinthefieldofhisimaginationwhenhewasmorethantwothousandmilesremovedfromthem。Thepeculiarcharmattachingtoanoldvillageinanoldcountry，asseenbytheeyesofanabsoluteforeigner，wasloweredinhiscasebymagnifiedexpectationsfrominfantinememories。Hewalkedon，lookingatthischimneyandthatoldwall，tillhecametothechurchyard，whichheentered。
Thehead-stones，whitenedbythemoon，wereeasilydecipherable；andnowforthefirsttimeLacklandbegantofeelhimselfamidthevillagecommunitythathehadleftbehindhimfive-and-thirtyyearsbefore。Here，besidestheSallets，theDarths，thePawles，thePrivetts，theSargents，andothersofwhomhehadjustheard，werenamesherememberedevenbetterthanthose：theJickses，andtheCrosses，andtheKnights，andtheOlds。Doubtlessrepresentativesofthesefamilies，orsomeofthem，wereyetamongtheliving；buttohimtheywouldallbeasstrangers。Farfromfindinghisheartready-suppliedwithrootsandtendrilshere，heperceivedthatinreturningtothisspotitwouldbeincumbentuponhimtore-establishhimselffromthebeginning，preciselyasthoughhehadneverknowntheplace，norithim。Timehadnotcondescendedtowaithispleasure，norlocallifehisgreeting。
ThefigureofMr。Lacklandwasseenattheinn，andinthevillagestreet，andinthefieldsandlanesaboutUpperLongpuddle，forafewdaysafterhisarrival，andthen，ghost-like，itsilentlydisappeared。Hehadtoldsomeofthevillagersthathisimmediatepurposeincominghadbeenfulfilledbyasightoftheplace，andbyconversationwithitsinhabitants：butthathisulteriorpurpose——ofcomingtospendhislatterdaysamongthem——wouldprobablyneverbecarriedout。Itisnowadozenorfifteenyearssincehisvisitwaspaid，andhisfacehasnotagainbeenseen。
End