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But week after week went by, and people saw that she positively refused to speak to Bill Laycock, and that she shrank even from his passing shadow, and they began to look queerly at the man. It amounted at first to nothing more than that; but as a mist creeps over the landscape, and gradually possesses it altogether, so this chill, adverse atmosphere enfolded him.
Then Bingley were sworn, and he said, as he were coming ovver t' moor, about half past six, he heard a shot, and saw Ben Craven come from behind a whin bush, and run toward t' village; and a minute after Bill Laycock came in sight; and Ben, he said, ran past him, also; and Laycock looked after Ben, and said to Bingley 'that's Ben Craven; he's in a bit of a hurry, I think."
Laycock to "give her a hand and show 'em all whether she was popular," he was satisfied. Having gained his point, he was once again in excellent humour. Possibly Lady Holme would have appreciated his large gaieties more if she had not divined their cause.
Laycock, treating upon the questions of mind and brain, says: "The phenomena of life present a vast series of adjustments and modifications to fill certain purposes and bring about ends." Mind and Brain, vol. 1, p. 222 to 224. Systematic action in the use of means to accomplish certain ends or purposes we regard as the evidence of intelligence.
Then he looked at his mates, put down his pot, and walked out. In a few minutes the others followed. Laycock went back to his house and sat down to think. There was no use fighting popular ill-will any longer. Mary would not walk on the same side of the street with him. It was the evident intention of the whole village to drive him away.
When I read of Laycock, for example, there arises a picture of a large, active, if a little wrong-headed, intelligence in a compact heroic body, emitting that "Goliath" speech of his that did so much to precipitate hostilities, it tallies not at all with the stammering, high-pitched, slightly bald, and very conscience-stricken personage I saw, nor with Melmount's contemptuous first description of him.
"The cookin's awful poison and the wine's worse. Why, last time Laycock was there they actually gave him " "Poor dear Mr. Laycock! Did they really? But what can we do? I'm sure I don't want to be poisoned either. I love life." She was looking brilliant. Lord Holme began to straddle his legs. "And there's the box!" he said.
She's a good lass enough, but good 'uns mak' as much trouble as t' bad 'uns sometimes, I think. It's Jonathan's daughter, Mary. She's ta'en Ben's fancy, and she's ta'en Bill Laycock's fancy, too. T' lass likes my Ben, and Clough he liked Laycock; for Laycock is t' blacksmith now, and owns t' forge, and t' house behind it. My Ben is nobbut Clough's overlooker."
He went on, as though speech was necessary to make it credible, to describe Laycock, who first gave the horror words at the cabinet council, "an undersized Oxford prig with a tenoring voice and a garbage of Greek the sort of little fool who is brought up on the admiration of his elder sisters. . . .
"You mustn't kill Miss Schley." Mrs. Wolfstein looked at Mr. Laycock and murmured to him: "Pimpernel does any killing that's going about for herself. What d'you say, Franky?" They went out of the box together, followed by "Henry," who was still buzzing calculations, like a Jewish bee.
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