he could not do it. "T' work isn't quite ready for me yet," he said to Ben, and that was true enough. Aske was unable to consult with lawyers and business men about many things which could hardly be transferred or put into fresh working order without his assistance. Jonas Shuttleworth would also have to be seen again, and Jonathan felt that to gratitude he would be compelled to add both patience and prudence. It was a little trial to him. He had one of those impulsive, driving tempers that would rather climb the wall than wait for the opening of the gate, and his triumph would have been far sweeter to him if there had been no provoking preliminaries and none of the law's delay.
Still, he was a very happy man, and going to be happier, he told himself for in the midst of his business changes he could not help the contemplation that the road between Sarah and himself was clearing. In an unacknowledged way she had been present in all his hopes and plans, and he felt that he could not be content until he had seen her long enough to make her understand, and share the brighter prospects before them.
There was a trustees' meeting at the chapel
