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‘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 longer in danger， Gabriel started to climb down，and at the bottom he met the maid。
‘I have a message from the farmer，who wishes to thank you for all you've done，’she said。
‘Where is he？’asked Gabriel，suddenly aware of the chance of getting some work。
‘It isn't a he，it's a she，’answered the girl。
‘A woman farmer？’asked Gabriel。
‘Yes，and a rich one too！’said a villager who was standing near。 ‘She inherited her uncle's farm，when he died suddenly。 She has business in every bank in Casterbridge！’
‘She's over there，wrapped in a cloak，on her horse，’added the maid。 In the darkness Gabriel could only see the shape of a woman sitting on a horse。 He walked over to her。 Although his face was black from the smoke and his clothes were burnt by the fire，he remembered to lift his hat politely，and asked； looking up at her，‘Do you want a shepherd，ma'am？’She let her cloak fall back from her head in surprise。 Gabriel and his cold…hearted darling，Bathsheba Everdene，stared at each other。 She did not speak。 He only repeated sadly，‘Do you want a shepherd，ma'am？’
Bathsheba turned away into the shadows to consider。 She was a little sorry for him， but also glad that she had improved her position since they last met。 She realized she had almost forgotten his offer of marriage on Norcombe Hill。
‘Yes，’she answered quietly，blushing a little，‘I do want a shepherd。 But—’
‘He's just the right man，ma'am，’said one of the villagers。
‘That's right！’said a second，and a third。
‘Then will you men tell him to speak to the farm manager？’said Bathsheba in a businesslike way，as she rode off。
Gabriel soon arranged the details of his employment with Bathsheba's farm manager，Benjy Pennyways，and walked on to the village to find a place to live。 As he walked，he thought of Bathsheba。 How quickly the young girl he remembered had become the capable mistress of a farm！
When he passed the churchyard，and the ancient trees around it，he noticed that someone was standing behind one of the trees。
‘Is this the right way to Weatherbury？’asked Gabriel。
‘Oh yes，straight on，’said a girl's voice，low and sweet。 After a pause she added，‘You're not a Weatherbury man？’
‘No，I'm the new shepherd，just arrived。 ’
‘Only a shepherd！You seem almost like a farmer to me。 ’
‘Only a shepherd，’repeated Gabriel in a dull voice，think－ing of the disaster that had destroyed his hopes of being a farmer。
‘Please don't tell anyone in the village that you've seen me，’begged the girl。 ‘I'm rather poor，and I don't want anyone to know about me。 ’ Her thin arms trembled in the cold。
‘I won't tell anyone，’said Gabriel，‘but you ought to be wearing a cloak on a night like this。 ’
‘Oh，it doesn't matter。 Please go on and leave me。 ’
He hesitated ‘Perhaps you'd accept this。 It's not much，but it's all I have to spare。 ’He put a coin into her small hand，and as he touched her wrist he noticed how quickly the blood was beating。 It was the same quick，hard beat that he felt in his lambs when they were close to death。
‘What's the matter？Can't I help you？’he asked。 He felt a deep sadness in this thin，weak creature。
‘No，no！Don't tell anyone you've seen me！Good night！’She stayed in the shadows，and Gabriel went on to Weather…bury。
4
Fanny Robin disappears
The farm manager had advised Gabriel to go straight to the malthouse in Weatherbury，to ask for somewhere to stay。 That was the place where the men of the village spent their evenings，drinking beer and talking by the fire。 When Gabriel entered the warm，dark room，some of Bathsheba's workers recognized him。
‘Come in，shepherd，you're welcome，’said one。
‘Gabriel Oak is my name，neighbours。 ’
The ancient maltster，with his white hair and long white beard，turned his old head stiffly towards Gabriel。 ‘Gabriel Oak of Norcombe！’he said。 ‘I knew your grandparents well！My boy Jacob and his young son Billy know your family too。 ’His boy Jacob was bald and toothless，and young Billy was about forty。
‘You must be very old，maltster，’said Gabriel politely，‘to have such an old son as Jacob here。 ’
‘Yes，I've lived for over a hundred years，’replied the little old man proudly。 ‘Sit down and drink with us，shepherd。 ’
The cup of warm beer passed round the circle of drinkers。 There was silence for a moment。 Then Gabriel turned the conversation to the matter closest to his heart。
‘What kind of mistress is Miss Everdene？’he asked。
‘We know almost nothing of her，shepherd，’answered Jan Coggan，a big，cheerful man with a red face。 ‘She only arrived here a few days ago，when her uncle died。 But the Everdenes are a good family to work for。 Of course，it's the farm manager who'll be giving us our orders。 ’
‘Ah！’said the maltster，frowning。 ‘Benjy Pennyways！’
‘You can't trust him！’added Jacob darkly。
Soon afterwards Gabriel left with Jan Coggan，who had offered the shepherd a bed in his house。 The remaining men were just preparing to leave when suddenly a young man called Laban Tall rushed into the malthouse，almost too excited to speak。
‘It's Benjy Pennyways！’he cried。 ‘Miss Everdene's caught him stealing wheat from the barn！She's sent him away！And worse than that——Fanny Robin，you know，Miss Everdene's youngest maid，is missing！The mistress wants us to look for her tomorrow。 And Billy Smallbury，she wants you to go to Casterbridge，to see if you can find the young soldier who's been courting Fanny。 ’
That night the news spread fast round the village，but did not reach Gabriel，whose dreams were only of Bathsheba。 Through the long slow hours of darkness he saw her lovely face and forgot that she did not love him。
The next morning Bathsheba and her maid Liddy were dust…ing some books，when a visitor arrived at the front door。 It was Mr Boldwood，who had a large farm in Weatherbury。
‘I can't see him like this，Liddy！’said Bathsheba，looking in horror at her dusty dress。 ‘Go down and tell him I'm busy。 ’
When Liddy came back， after Mr Boldwood had gone，Bathsheba asked，‘What did he want， Liddy？ And who is he，exactly？’
‘He just wanted to ask if Fanny had been found，miss。 You know，as she had no family or friends，he was kind enough to pay for her to go to school，and found her a job here with your uncle。 He's your neighbour。 His farm is next to yours。 ’
‘Is he married？ And how old is he？’
‘He isn't married。 He's abeut forty，very handsome—and rich。 All the girls in the area have tried to persuade him to marry。 But he just doesn't seem interested in women。 Have you ever had an offer of marriage，miss？’
‘Yes，I have，Liddy，’answered Bathsheba after a pause，thinking of Gabriel。 ‘But he wasn't quite good enough for me。 ’
‘Oh，how nice to be able to refuse，when most of us are glad to accept the first offer！ And did you love him，miss？’
‘Oh no。 But I rather liked him。 ’
In the afternoon Bathsh