Elfride, being denied an
answer, was looking at the tower and trying to think of some
contrasting quotation she might use to regain his tenderness.
After a little thought she said in winning tones--
"Thou hast been my hope, and a strong tower for me against the
enemy."'
They passed on. A few minutes later three or four birds were seen
to fly out of the tower.
'The strong tower moves,' said Knight, with surprise.
A corner of the square mass swayed forward, sank, and vanished. A
loud rumble followed, and a cloud of dust arose where all had
previously been so clear.
'The church restorers have done it!' said Elfride.
At this minute Mr. Swancourt was seen approaching them. He came
up with a bustling demeanour, apparently much engrossed by some
business in hand.
'We have got the tower down!' he exclaimed. 'It came rather
quicker than we intended it should. The first idea was to take it
down stone by stone, you know. In doing this the crack widened
considerably, and it was not believed safe for the men to stand
upon the walls any longer. Then we decided to undermine it, and
three men set to work at the weakest corner this afternoon. They
had left off for the evening, intending to give the final blow to-
morrow morning, and had been home about half an hour, when down it
came. A very successful job--a very fine job indeed. But he was
a tough old fellow in spite of the crack.
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