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‘Yes，I suppose I could，’said Gabriel。 He was hoping he could stay there，close to her； for a long time He wanted to tell her so，but he knew he could not express himself well，so he stayed silent。 ‘How did you find me？’he asked in the end。
‘Oh，I heard your dog scratching at the door，so I came to see what the matter was。 I opened the door，and found you unconscious。 It must have been the smoke from the stove。 ’
‘I believe you saved my life，Miss——I don't know your name。
‘There's no need to know it。 I probably won't see you again。 ’
‘My name is Gabriel Oak。 ’
‘Mine isn't。 You sound very proud of your name。 ’
‘Well，it's the only one I shall ever have。 ’
‘I don't like mine。 ’
‘I should think you'll soon get a new one。 ’
‘Well！That's my business，Gabriel Oak。 ’
‘I'm not very clever at talking，miss，but I want to thank you。 Come，give me your hand！’
She hesitated，then offered her hand。 He took it，but held it for only a moment。 ‘I'm sorry，’he said。 ‘I didn't mean to let your hand go so quickly。 ’
‘You may have it again then。 Here it is。 ’
Gabriel held it longer this time。 ‘How soft it is，even in winter，not rough at all！ ’he said。
‘there，that's long enough，’she said，but without pulling it away。 ‘But I suppose you're thinking you'd like to kiss it？You may if you want to。 ’
‘I wasn't thinking any such thing，’said Gabriel，‘but—’
‘Oh no you won't！’She pulled her hand sharply away。 ‘Now discover my name，’she added，laughing，and left。
2
Disaster for Gabriel Oak
Young Farmer Oak was in love。 He waited for the girl's regular visits to the sick cow just as impatiently as his dog waited to be fed。 He discovered that her name was Bathsheba Everdene，and that she lived with her aunt，Mrs Hurst。 His head was so full of her that he could think of nothing else。
‘I'll make her my wife，’he declared to himself，‘or I'll never be able to concentrate on work again！’
When she stopped coming to feed the sick cow，he had to find a reason for visiting her。 So he took a young lamb，whose mother had died，and carried it in a basket across the fields to Mrs Hurst's house。
‘I've brought a lamb for Miss Everdene，’he told Bathshe－ba's aunt。 ‘Girls usually like looking after lambs。 ’
‘Thank you，Mr Oak，’replied Mrs Hurst，‘but Bathsheba is only a visitor here。 I don't know if she'll keep it。 ’
‘To tell you the truth，Mrs Hurst，the lamb isn't my real reason for coming。 I want to ask Miss Everdene if she'd like to be married。 ’
‘Really？’asked Mrs Hurst，looking closely at him。
‘Yes Because if she would，I'd like to marry her。 Do you know if she has any other young men courting her at the moment？’
‘Oh yes，a lot of young men，’said Mrs Hurst。 ‘You see，Farmer Oak，she's so handsome，and so well…educated too。 Of course；I haven't actually seen any of her young men，but she must have at least ten or twelve！’
‘That's unfortunate，’said Farmer Oak，staring sadly at the floor。 ‘I'm just a very ordinary man，and my only chance was being the first to ask to marry her。 Well，that was all I came for。 I'd better go home now， Mrs Hurst。 ’
He had gone halfway across the first field when he heard a cry behind him。 He turned，and saw a girl running after him。 It was Bathsheba。 Gabriel blushed。
‘Farmer Oak，’she called breathlessly，‘I want to say——my aunt made a mistake when she told you I had a lot of young men courting me。 In fact，I haven't got any，and I've never had any。 ’
‘I am glad to hear that！’said Gabriel，with a wide smile，holding out his hand to take hers。 But she pulled her hand away quickly。 ‘I have a nice comfortable little farm，’he added，a little less confidently。 ‘And when we are married，I'm sure I can work twice as hard as I do now，and earn more。 ’
He stretched out his arm towards her。 Bathsheba moved rapidly behind a tree to avoid him。 ‘But，Farmer Oak，’she said in surprise，‘I never said I was going to marry you。 ’
‘Well！’said Gabriel，disappointed。 ‘To run after me like this， and then say you don't want me！’
‘I only wanted to explain that my aunt was wrong，’she answered eagerly。 ‘Anyway，I had to run to catch up with you，so I didn't have time to decide whetherl wanted to marry or not。 ’
‘Just think for a minute or two，’replied Gabriel hopefully。 ‘I'll wait a while， Miss Everdene。 Will you marry me？ Do，Bathsheba。 I love you very much！’
‘I'll try to think，’she answered。 ‘Give me time，’and she looked away from him at the distant hills。
‘I can make you happy，’he said to the back of her head ‘You shall have a piano，and I'll practise the flute to play with you in the evenings。 ’
‘Yes，I'd like that。 ’
‘And at home by the fire，whenever you look up，there I'll be，and whenever I look up， there you'll be。 ’
‘Wait，let me think！’She was silent for a while，and then turned to him。 ‘No，’she said，‘I don't want to marry you。 It'd be nice to have a wedding，but having a husband——well，he'd always be there。 As you say，whenever I looked up，there he'd be。 ’
‘Of course he would——it would be me。 ’
‘that's the problem。 I wouldn't mind being a bride，if I could be one without having a husband。 But as a woman can't be a bride alone，I won't marry，at least not yet。 ’
‘What a silly thing for a girl to say！’ cried Gabriel。 And then he said softly，‘But darling，think again！’He moved round the tree to reach her。 ‘Why won't you have me？’
‘Because I don't love you，’she replied， moving away。
‘But I love you——and I'm happy to be liked，if that's all you feel for me。 ’He spoke more seriously than he had ever spoken before。 ‘Only one thing is certain in this life——I shall love you，and want you，and keep on wanting you until I die。 ’His feelings were plain to see in his honest face，and his large brown hands were trembling。
‘It seems wrong not to accept you when you feel so strongly，’she replied unhappily。 ‘I wish I hadn't run after you！But we wouldn't be happy together，Mr Oak。 I'm too independent。 I need a husband who can keep me in order， and I'm sure you wouldn't be able to do that。 ’
Gabriel looked hopelessly away and did not reply。
‘And，Mr Oak，’she continued in a clear voice，‘I'm so poor that my aunt has to provide a home for me。 You're just starting your farming business。 It would be much more sensi…ble for you to marry a woman with money。 Then you could buy more sheep and improve your farm。 ’
‘That's just what I'd been thinking！’ answered Gabriel in surprise。
What common sense she had，he thought admiringly。
‘Well then，why did you ask to marry me？’she said angrily。
‘I can't do what I think would be——sensible。 I must do what my heart tells me。 ’He did not see the trap she had set for him。
‘Now you've confessed that marrying me wouldn't be sen－sible， Mr Oak。 Do you think I'll marry you after that？’
‘Don't mistake my meaning like that，’he cried，‘just because I'm honest enough to tell you the truth！I know you'd be a good wife for me。 You speak like a lady，everyone says so，