and as they saw Ned sitting by the side of the men who were known
as his champions they hurried away to spread the news that young
Sankey had been acquitted.

The hard look died out of Ned's face as the door opened, and Lucy
sprang out and threw her arms round his neck and cried with delight
at seeing him; and Abijah, crying too, greeted him inside with a
motherly welcome. A feeling of relief came across his mind as he
entered the sitting room. Dr. Green, who was one of the trustees
in the marriage settlement, had, in the inability of Mrs. Mulready
to give any orders, taken upon himself to dispose of much of the
furniture, and to replace it with some of an entirely different
fashion and appearance. The parlor was snug and cosy; a bright fire
blazed on the hearth; a comfortable armchair stood beside it; the
room looked warm and homely. Ned's two friends had followed him
in, and tears stood in both their eyes.

"Welcome back, dear boy!" Mr. Porson said, grasping his hand. "God
grant that better times are in store for you, and that you may
outlive this trial which has at present darkened your life. Now we
will leave you to your brother and sister. I am sure you will be
glad to be alone with them."

And so Ned took to the life he had marked out for himself. In two
months he seemed to have aged years. The careless look of boyhood
had altogether disappeared from his face. Except from his two friends
he rejected all sympathy. When he walked through the streets of
Marsden it was with a cold, stony face, as if he were wholly unaware
of the existence of passersby. The thought that as he went along
men drew aside to let him pass and whispered after he had gone,