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d－frey．The worst thing was that he would have to walk home，something he was not at all used to doing．
He drank some more whisky from the bottle he kept in his pocket，and started down the country road．He kept thinking about Silas's money．There would certainly be enough for his own needs as well as Godfrey's．Dunstan thought it would be easy to frighten the weaver a little，and then Silas would quick－ly agree to lend his money．
It was four o'clock in the afternoon，and the whole country－side was covered by a thick mist．Dunstan did not see anyone on his way back to Raveloe．He knew he was getting close to the old quarry，although he could not see the road in front of him．At last he saw light coming from the weaver's cottage，and he decided to knock at the door．‘Why not ask the old man for the money now？he thought．
But when he knocked loudly，there was no reply．And when he pushed the door，it opened．Dunstan found himself in front of a bright fire which showed every corner of the small living…room．Silas Marner was not there．Dunstan was tired and cold，so he went quickly to sit by the warm fire．As he sat down，he noticed a small piece of meat cooking over the fire．It was hanging from a large door key． ‘So，the old man's cooking meat for his supper，is he？'thought Dunstan．‘But where is he？Why is his door unlocked？Perhaps he went out to fetch some wood for the fire，and fell into the quarry！Perhaps he's dead！'this was an interesting new idea．‘And if he's dead，who inherits his mon－ey？Who would know that anybody had come to take it away？’And the most important question of all—‘Where is the money？’
Dunstan's excitement made him forget that the weaver could still be alive．He wanted Silas to be dead，and he wanted Silas's money．He looked round the cottage again．There was very little furniture，just a bed，the loom，three chairs and a table．Dunstan looked under the bed，but the money was not there．Then he noticed a plsce on the floor，near the loom，where the floorboards looked different．By pulling up one of the boards，he discovered Silas's hiding－place．He took out the two heavy bags filled with gold，put the boards back and hurried to the door．
Outside，the rain was falling heavily，and he could not see anything at all．Carrying the heavy bags，he stepped forward into the darkness．
3 Where is Silas's gold？
When Dunstan Cass left the cottage，Silas Marner was only a hundred metres away．He was walking home from the village，where he had gone to buy what he needed for his next day's work．His legs were tired，but he felt almost happy．He was looking forward to supper…time，when he would bring out his gold．Tonight he had an extra reason to hurry home．He was going to eat hot meat，which was unusual for him．And it would cost him nothing，because someone had giv…en him a piece of meat as a present．He had left it cooking over the fire．The door key was needed to hold it safely in place，but Silas was not at all worried about leaving his gold in the cot…tage with the door unlocked．He could not imagine that a thief would find his way through the mist，rain and darkness to the little cottage by the quarry．
When he reached his cottage and opened the door，he did not notice that anything was different．He threw off his wet coat，and pushed the meat closer to the fire．As soon as he was warm again，he began to think about his gold．It seemed a long time to wait until after supper，when he usually brought out the coins to look at．So he decided to bring out his gold immediate－ly，while the meat was still cooking．
But when he took up the floorboards near the loom，and saw the empty hole，he did not understand at once．His heart beat violently as his trembling hands felt all round the hole．There was nothing there！He put his hands to his head and tried to think．Had he put his gold in a different place，and forgotten about it？He searched every corner of his small cottage，until he could not pretend to himself any more．He had to accept the truth－his gold had been stolen！
He gave a wild，desperate scream，and stood still for a mo－ment．Then he turned towards his loom，and almost fell into the seat where he always worked．He touched the loom to make sure it，too，had not been stolen．Now he was beginning to think more clearly．‘A thief has been here！If I can find him，he'll have to give back my gold！But I was only away for a short time，and there's no sign of anyone entering the cottage．’He wondered whether it was really a thief who had taken his money，or whether it was the same cruel God who had already destroyed his happiness once．But Silas preferred to suspect a thief，who would perhaps return the money．He began to think it must be Jem Rodney，a local poacher，who had known about Silas's money，and who sometimes visited the cottage．Silas felt stronger now that he thought he knew the thief．‘I must go and tell the Squire，and the police！’he said to himself．‘They'll make Jem give me back the money！'so he hurried out in the rain without a coat，and ran towards the Rainbow．
He thought he would find the most important people in Rav－eloe at the public house，but in fact most of them were at Mrs Osgood's birthday dance．There were，however，five villagers at the Rainbow，enjoying an interesting conversation about ghosts，while drinking their beer．
‘I tell you，people have seen ghosts，'the butcher said．‘And I'll tell you where，too．Behind the church！’
‘That's right，’agreed old Mr Macey．‘You young ones aren't old enough to remember，but people have seen ghosts near the church since I was a boy．Oh yes，it's true．’
The farrier laughed scornfully．‘Ghosts！People imagine they see things on a dark night！You can't make me believe in ghosts！It's a question of fact！There are no ghosts！’
‘Now，now，’began the lanalord，who always tried to keep the peace，‘in some ways you're all wrong，and in some ways you're all right，that's my opinion．There are ghosts，and there aren't，well，that's what people say．And…’
Just then Silas's white face appeared suddenly in the door－way．He had run all the way from his cottage，so he could not speak for a moment．He stared silently at the men with his strange staring eyes，looking exactly like a ghost．For a few minutes nobody said anything，while Silas tried to control his breathing．Then the landlord spoke．
‘What do you want，Master Marner？Come，tell us．’
‘Robbed！’cried Silas，suddenly able to speak．‘I've been robbed！I want the police，and the Squire！’He waved his arms wildly as he spoke．
‘Hold him，Jem，'said the landlord to the poacher，who was sitting near the door．‘I think he's gone mad．’
But Jem moved quickly away．‘Not me！’he replied．‘I don't want anything to do with a ghost！’
‘Jem Rodney！’cried Silas，turning and staring at the man he suspected．
‘Yes，Master Marner？’answered Jem，trembling a little．
‘If it was you who stole my money，'said Silas，going close to Jem，‘just give it back to me，and I won't tell the police．Please—just give it back．’
‘Stole your money！’cried Jem angrily．‘I'll t