VIII.
As she stepped on the porch, the door opened and John Abner came out, accompanied by Amos Wigfall and one of the tenant farmers, Samuel Larch, who lived on the far side of Pedlar's Mill. John Abner looked morose, but this had become his habitual expression since he had been crossed in love, and she was less disturbed by it than she was by the anxious suavity on the face of the sheriff.
"I was admirin' yo' improvements," Mr. Wigfall remarked. "Thar's been a heap of changes since the old days when yo' Pa an' Ma lived here."
She met his wandering glance and held it firmly. "I saw Mr. Kettledrum and he gave me your message."
The sheriff's flabby face stiffened. "My message, ma'am?"
"About Doctor Greylock. I cannot have him at Five Oaks. He has no claim on me." Hesitating an instant,
