It commanded the valley, had no house near it, and was sheltered
from the north wind by the hill-top which rose up behind it a hundred
feet or more. No road led to it--only a path up from the green of the
village, winding past a gulley and the deep cuts of old rivulets now over
grown by grass or bracken. It got the sun abundantly, and it was
protected from the full sweep of any storm. It had but two rooms, the
floor was of sanded earth, but it had windows on three sides, east, west,
and south, and the door looked south. Its furniture was a plank bed, a
few shelves, a bench, two chairs, some utensils, a fireplace of stone, a
picture of the Virgin and Child, and of a cardinal of the Church of Rome
with a red hat--for the chair-maker had been a Roman Catholic, the only
one of that communion in Hamley. Had he been a Protestant his vices would
have made him anathema, but, being what he was, his fellow-villagers had
treated him with kindness.
After the half-day in which he was permitted to make due preparations,
lay in store of provisions, and purchase a few sheep and hens, hither
came David Claridge.
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