"I'll go with you, Tim," said Dan, putting on his cap; "it will be company up to my dell."
"Right, rye!" replied the Tinker, draining the tankard. "Good night t' ye, my noble gentleman," he added, nodding to Jarner.
"Come and see me to-morrow; we will resume our conversation."
This was the parting salutation of Jarner to Dan, and after he promised to call, he strode away with Tim into the darkness. At the top of the ridge, Dan halted to look down at the Gates of Dawn, which reared themselves like the portals of night in the gloom. Tim chuckled and clapped his companion heavily on the shoulder.
"What about the prophecy, my lord?" said he, in a dry voice.
"My lord!" repeated Dan, starting. "What, you know?"
"I know that you are Lord Ardleigh, and that the prophecy of the Mother is fulfilled."
[CHAPTER XXI.]
THE DAYS PASS BY.
Summer was giving place to autumn, and still Lord Ardleigh lingered at Farbis. A constant succession of fine days enabled him to continue his outdoor life; and so many weeks had he dwelt in the dell, that he quite looked on it in the light of a home. Instructed and guided by Meg, who was proficient in woodcraft, he soon became conversant with moors and valleys, and pine woods and adjacent hamlets. For miles round he explored the country, and learned the fascination exercised on the thoughtful mind by the barren hills. Those summer days were henceforth to rank among the pleasant memories of his life; and with reason, for were they not the days of his wooing? Who forgets the time when Cupid was king?