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，shepherd¹，you're welcome，’said one.

‘Gabriel Oak² is my name，neighbours. ’

The ancient maltster，with his white hair and long white beard，turned his old head stiffly³ 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 bald⁴ 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 mistress⁵ 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

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