'We will have no more of innkeeping,' he said; 'I have been sick and
tired of it this many a day, and care not now to see men abuse good
liquor and addle their silly pates to fill my purse. And I have
something, boy, put snug away in Dorchester town that will give us bread
to eat and beer to drink, even if the throws run still deuce-ace. But we
must seek a roof to shelter us when the Why Not? is shut, and 'tis best
we leave this Moonfleet of ours for a season, till Maskew finds a rope's
end long enough to hang himself withal. So, when our work is done
tomorrow night, we will walk out along the cliff to Worth, and take a
look at a cottage there that Damen spoke about, with a walled orchard at
the back, and fuchsia hedge in front--'tis near the Lobster Inn, and has
a fine prospect of the sea; and if we live there, we will leave the vault
alone awhile and use this Pyegrove's Hole for storehouse, till the watch
is relaxed.'
I did not answer, having my thoughts on other things, and he tossed off
his liquor, saying, 'Thou'rt tired; so let's to bed, for we shall get
little sleep tomorrow night.'
It was true that I was tired, and yet I could not get to sleep, but
tossed and turned in my bed for thinking of many things, and being vexed
that we were to leave Moonfleet. Yet mine was a selfish sorrow; for I had
little thought for Elzevir and the pain that it must be to him to quit,
the Why Not?: nor yet was it the grief of leaving Moonfleet that so
troubled me, although that was the only place I ever had known, and
seemed to me then--as now--the only spot on earth fit to be lived in; but
the real care and canker was that I was going away from Grace Maskew.
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