"He's not hard on us—but he's unaccountable interfering; it maddens me sometimes."
"Seems as if he didn't trust us—seems sometimes as if he was afraid we'd go off like the others."
"Reckon he is—he saw how we envied Richard."
"Davy, it 'ud be cruel of us to go and leave him."
"I döan't say as I want to do that."
"Besides, it äun't likely as we'd do as well fur ourselves as Richard. We've no Miss Bardon to trouble about us—reckon we'd come to grief like Albert."
"Maybe we would."
§ 9.
Four years later Reuben bought the farmstead of Totease. Brazier died, and the Manor, anxious as usual for ready money, put up his farm for sale. It was a good place of about sixty acres, with some beautiful hop gardens and plenty of water. Reuben felt that it would be unwise to neglect such an opportunity for enlarging the boundaries of Odiam. He outbid one or two small farmers, put the place under repair, engaged more hands, and set to work to develop a large business in hops.