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uth！I know you'd be a good wife for me。 You speak like a lady，everyone says so，and your uncle at Weatherbury has a large farm，I've heard。 May I visit you in the evenings，or will you come for a walk with me on Sundays？You don't have to decide at once。 ’
‘No，no，I cannot。 Don't insist，don't。 I don't love you，so it would be foolish； ’she said with a laugh。
No man likes to see his feelings laughed at，so Gabriel Oak said，turning away，‘Very well，then I won't ask you again。 ’
Gabriel did not see Bathsheba again and two days later he heard that she had left the area， and was now in Weatherbury，a village twenty miles away。 Her departure did not stop Gabriel from loving her。 In fact he loved her even more deeply now that they were apart。
The next night，before going to bed，Gabriel called his two dogs to come into the house for the night。 His old dog，George，obeyed the call，but the younger one was missing。 Gabriel was having difficulty training this young dog，which，although enthusiastic，still did not understand a sheep dog's duties。 He did not worry about the dog's absence，but went to bed。
Very early in the morning he was woken by the sound of sheep bells，ringing violently。 Shepherds know every sound that sheep bells make，and Gabriel immediately realized that his sheep were running fast。 He jumped out of bed，threw on his clothes and ran up Norcombe Hill，to his fields near the chalk…pit。
There were his fifty sheep with their lambs，all safe，in one field。 But in the other field，the two hundred pregnant sheep had completely disappeared。 He noticed a broken gate，and felt sure the sheep had gone through it。 There was no sign of them in the next field，but ahead of him at the top of the hill he saw the young dog，looking black against the morning sky。 It was standing quite still，staring down into the chalk…pit。
Gabriel felt sick as he realized the horrible truth。 He hurried up the hill to the edge of the chalk…pit，and looked down into it。 In the deep pit lay his dead and dying sheep，two hundred of them，which would have produced two hundred more in the next few weeks。 The young，untrained dog must have chased them up to the edge of the pit，where they fell to their death。
His first feeling was pity for those gentle sheep and their unborn lambs。 Then he thought of himself。 All his savings，which he had worked so hard for in the last ten years，had been spent on renting the farm。 Now his hopes of being an independent farmer were destroyed。 He covered his face with his hands。
After a while he looked up。 ‘Thank God I'm not married to Bathsheba，’he thought。 ‘What would she have done，mar－ried to a husband as poor as I shall be！’
The young dog was shot the next day。 Gabriel sold all his farm tools to pay what he owed for the sheep。 He was no longer a farmer，just an ordinary man who owned the clothes he was wearing and nothing more。 Now he had to find work where he could，on other men's farms。
3
The fire
Two months later Gabriel went to the great fair at Casterbridge，hoping to find a job as farm manager。 But when he realized by late afternoon that none of the farmers at Casterbridge wanted a farm manager，or even a shepherd，he decided to try his luck at another fair the next day。 It was fifteen miles further away，in a village the other side of Weatherbury。 The name Weatherbury reminded him of Bathsheba，and he wondered if she still lived there。 He set out on foot as it was getting dark，and had already walked three or four miles when he saw a cart，half…full of hay，by the side of the road。 ‘That's a comfortable place to sleep，’he thought，and he was so tired after his long，disappointing day at the fair that when he climbed into the cart，he fell asleep immediately。
A couple of hours later，however，he was woken by the movement of the cart。 It was being driven towards Weather－bury by two farm workers，who had not noticed Gabriel。 He listened to their conversation。
‘She's a handsome woman，that's true，’said one，‘but proud too！And very vain，that's what people say！’
‘Oh，if she's vain，Billy Smallbury，I'll never be able to look at her！I'm such a shy man，as you know！’said the other。 ‘A single woman，and vain！And does she pay her farm workers well？’
‘I don't know about that，Joseph Poorgrass。 ’
Gabriel thought they could be talking about Bathsheba，except that the woman they were discussing seemed to be the mistress of a farm。 As the cart was now quite near Weather－bury，Gabriel jumped out，unseen by the two men。 He climbed a gate into a field，intending to sleep for the rest of the night under a hay－rick，but then he noticed an unusual light in the darkness，about half a mile away。 Something was on fire。
He hurried across the fields towards the fire。 Soon，in the rich orange light of the flames，he could see a hay－rick burning fiercely。 It was too late to save the rick，so for a few minutes he stood and stared at the flames。 But when the smoke cleared for a moment，he was horrified to see，very close to the burn－ing rick，a whole row of wheat－ricks。 These probably con－tained most of the wheat produced on the farm that year，and could catch fire at any moment。
As he rushed towards the wheat－rick that was most in dan…ger，he saw he was not alone。 A crowd of farm workers had seen the fire and run into the field to help save the wheat，but they were so confused they did not know what to do。 Gabriel took control and gave orders。
‘Get a large cloth！’he shouted。 ‘Put it over the wheat－rick，so the wind can't blow the flames from the hay－rick on to it！Now，you，stand here with a bucket of water and keep the cloth wet！’The men hurried to obey him。 The flames，prevented from burning the bottom and sides of the wheat…32 rick，began to attack its roof。
‘Get me a ladder！’cried Gabriel。 ‘And a branch，and some water！’He climbed up the wheat－rick and sat on the top，beating down the flames with the branch。 Billy Smallbury，one of the men who had been in the cart，climbed up with a bucket of water， to throw water on Gabriel and keep the flames off him。 The smoke was at its thickest at this corner of the rick， but Gabriel never stopped his work。
On the ground the villagers were doing what they could to stop the fire，which was not much。 A little further away was a young woman who had just arrived on her horse，witn her maid on foot。 They were watching the fire and discussing Gabriel。
‘He's a fine young man，ma'am，’said Liddy，the maid。 ‘And look at his clothes！They're all burnt！’
‘Who does he work for？’asked the woman in a clear voice。
‘I don't know，ma'am，nor do the others。 He's a stranger。 ’
‘Jan Coggan！’called the woman to one of her workers。 ‘Do you think the wheat is safe now？’
‘I think so，yes，ma'am，’he answered。 ‘If the fire had spread to this wheat－rick，all the other ricks would have caught fire too。 That brave young man up there on top of the rick is the one who's saved your wheat。 ’
‘He does work hard，’said the young woman，looking up at Gabriel； who had not noticed her。 ‘I wish he worked for me。 ’
As the ricks were no longe