But as she is a stranger to the place, and I don't want to
discourage anybody who comes to help you, I will get some wood for her,
but I must say that it does not look very well for the lord of the manor
to be carrying fuel to the cook."
"It isn't the lord of the manor," cried Miriam; "it is the head
hay-maker, and when you dress yourself for supper, she will never think
of you as the man who brought in the wood."
Dora, from the kitchen window, saw Ralph go out to the woodhouse, and she
saw him returning with an arm-load of small sticks. Then she turned her
back to the kitchen door, and bent her head over a beefsteak she was
preparing for the gridiron.
Ralph came in with the wood, and put it down by the side of the great
stove. As he glanced at the slight form in the pink gown, it struck him
that this woman would not be equal to the hard work which would be
sometimes necessary here.
"I suppose this wood will be as much as you will want for the present,"
he said, as he turned toward the door, "and the man will fill this box
to-night, but if you need any more before he does so, there is the
woodhouse just across the yard, where you can easily get a few sticks.
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